
Glass r^ S A 



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PRESENTED BV 



"HIS Volume is Presented to You 
IN loving memory of 



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ALFRED BELDEN RICE 



BY HIS Father and Mother 
Philadelphia. 1919 




Alfred Belden Rice 
18 78 -1903 



A Life of Preparation 

Metrical Versions of the Psalms in 

English and Literary 

Writings of 

ALFRED BELDEN RICE 



Edited by His Father 
with an Introductory Note by Prof. Felix E. Schelling 






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CONTENTS 

Introductory Note by Felix E. Schelling 5 

A Life of Preparation 1 1 

Metrical Versions of the Psalms in English — A Fragment. . . .23 

In the Bret Harte Country — from Alumni Register, Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania, 1903 43 

"Oversea Notes"* in the Leisure Hour, London: 

Advertising Nuisance in America (Oct., 1902) 49 

English Verse (Oct., 1902) 50 

Life at High Altitudes (Sept., 1903) 51 

Business Methods in American Universities (Sept., 1903). 52 

Summer Schools in the United States (Apr., 1903) 53 

How Tramps Travel (Apr., 1903) 54 

Sight-seeing Trolley Cars in America (Dec, 1902) 55 

Chicago Drainage Canal (Dec, 1902) 56 

Passing of the American Cowboy (Dec, 1902) 57 

The College Girl and Matrimony (June, 1902) 58 

Dining on American Railways (Oct., 1903) 59 

A Negro University (Oct., 1903) 60 

From Unpublished Papers: 

Tannhauser Legends 62 

Hiram Porter McGinniss 68 

Ethan Allen Monument 72 

Wordsworth 74 



♦Selected from upward of fifty contributions to the Leisure Hour. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

by 
Felix E. Schelling, Ph. D., LL.D. 

Professor of English Language and Literature 
in the University of Pennsylvania 

Several years ago, it was my privilege, during the 
college sessions of three years, to make the acquaintance 
of Mr. Alfred Belden Rice. On first meeting him as a 
student, I was attracted by his alert and attentive face, 
and soon learned to recognize in him an unusual eager- 
ness in the pursuit of his studies, a fine independence of 
judgment and an ambition never to leave a task until 
he had thoroughly completed it. These traits, combined 
as they were with excellent natural abilities and with a 
charming modesty as to himself and his attainments, 
soon endeared him to me, as to all who knew him, and 
his untimely death severed only too soon a friendship 
which, I feel sure, would have been enduring. 

Young Mr. Rice was the furthest possible from the 
type of student who seems intent only upon the goal of 
a degree and is willing to take any short cut to the 
attainment of it. We, who teach are, perhaps, not as 
frequently deluded by these hunters after opportunities 
as they may themselves suspect. I am not prepared to 
say that experience in teaching brings with it the 
ability to divide students into types; it is better 
perhaps to recognize that each human individual is 
after all a type in himself. Among the young, however, 
there is a tendency either to accept guidance in a spirit 
of blind and docile willingness to be relieved of the 
tedium of too much thinking, or, on the other hand, to 
assume a pert attitude of question as to practically 
everything that is said or thought by those who have 
had the misfortune to come into the world before these 
inheritors of the wealth of all time. 



My memory recalls young Mr. Rice as of neither 
of these types; modest, gentle, willing to undertake 
whatever task was required of him and interested in 
the doing of it, he was of the type of student that makes 
teaching easy, alike for his personality and for the 
genuine love of learning which was his. His promise 
was great; unhappily fulfillment was denied him. 

The study of the English translations of the 
Psalms was undertaken by Mr. Rice in consequence of 
certain work assigned to him in a graduate course in 
English lyrical poetry which I conducted. As I remem- 
ber it, the initiative as to this as a choice of subject for 
further research came from Mr. Rice himself, a circum- 
stance in itself rare among graduate students. He 
recognized, from the first, that the Psalms of David, 
this greatest inspiration of the spirit of worship, must 
prove a fruitful subject, diligently pursued from 
Elizabethan times to our own, in the resonance, so to 
speak, of kindred poetical souls. For if poetry is the 
expression of the age, in these translations should be 
found much of the best, the most devout, the most 
fervent of that expression. It is fair to remind the 
reader that this work was only begun. I remember well 
an interview, unhappily destined to be the last which 
we had upon the subject, in which we discussed its 
wider possibilities, and I recall the quiet zeal and 
determination of the young student to take the time 
to make his work as perfect as possible. What he has 
left us must be judged as a fragment, a worthy promise 
only of what he might have made it. And it is certainly 
better that the work should be presented in the state 
in which he left it, rather than with such changes as 
might obscure and confuse his part. At the time when 
this work was undertaken far less had been done on the 
general subject of the Psalms and their history in 
English literature than since. Assuredly Mr. Rice, had 
he been spared, would never have allowed his work to 
see the light except upon the basis of a full acquaint- 
ance not only with the existing material but with all 



commentary on his topic. Ingenuousness, honesty and 
thoroughness were conspicuous traits in his character. 
Equipment such as this unquestionably would have 
made him an admirable investigator in whatever field 
of research he might have followed. 

We who work in the history of letters find the most 
touching chapter of all in the blighted promises of what 
might have been. Marlowe, with possibilities in 
tragedy that might have rivalled Shakespeare, to be 
realized only in the tragedy of his own short life; 
Chatterton, marvellous boy, with the genius of a great 
poet, gone before he reached manhood ; Keats, with the 
promise of even more than the precious fame which is 
immortally his: these are the real tragedies of the 
history of literature. And not less touching in their 
more modest place are the unfulfillments of scholarship 
and youthful ambition, delicate flowers of broken stalk 
to be appraised with the tenderness of love, not with 
the askance of criticism. 

On the tender memorial of a young and beautiful 
life I am proud to have been asked to carve my simple 
inscription. 



sketch of 

Alfred Belden Rice 

by 

Edwin Wilbur Rice 



A Life of Preparation 

THE quality of life is of more importance than the quantity. 
Life is more truly measured by right thoughts, noble aspira- 
tions, good intentions, uplifting influences, generous activ- 
ities, and unselfish services, than by the number of years. Life 
is short, or life is long, according as it fulfils life's chief end. It 
may be few in years, yet abounding in vitality and love. It may 
be full of years, and yet empty of fruit as the barren fig tree. 

This interpretation of life found expression in thousands of 
young lives sacrificed on the battlefields, and in thousands of 
homes during the world war for righteousness and humanity. In 
the final reckoning not the number of years, but the waste, or 
the wise use, of them will determine the award. Thus the record 
of a life brief in years may teach some lessons of virtue and of 
value that might be lacking in one of the longest lives. 

Alfred Belden Rice had completed his short life more than 
ten years before the great war, but it has seemed to many who 
knew him that a sketch of his life and character, and some of his 
writings, would forcibly illustrate this suggestive interpretation 
of the problems of human life, and it might comfort and cheer 
other pilgrims in their struggles and sorrows on the way to the 
haven of rest. 

This tribute of affection and love has been deferred for 
reasons unnecessary now to relate. Though the delay has not 
much lessened the sense of the loss in the home, it has softened 
the acuteness of grief, and it has given a better perspective to 
judge of his activities, motives, and character. Time has revealed 
the latter in greater and truer value. 

It is good to be well-born. Alfred Belden Rice delighted to 
trace his Pilgrim ancestry back through his mother to the time 
of the Mayflower and through his father in a New England 
family into which there came a liberal spicing of the north of 
Ireland and old English blood. 

He was the youngest son of Dr. Edwin Wilbur Rice, Sr., and 
Mary Gardner Rice, and was born in Philadelphia September 
20, 1878. In early infancy he was dedicated to the Lord and was 
fostered in the lap of love, but not of luxury. 

The home of his childhood was an ordinary dwelling in a 
quiet but growing section of the city. Across the street, opposite 
to it, stood a rather pretentious brown-stone residence within 
a pretty private park. Behind the home were several open lots, 
which the children were allowed to appropriate temporarily for 

liil 



a playground. Within, the home was plainly but comfortably 
furnished in a style betokening neither poverty nor riches. The 
daily fare was simple and the habits of the family were free from 
affectation. Each member voluntarily aimed to render some 
definite service that would add to the comfort and pleasure of all. 

The children were thus left free to lead and enjoy a true 
child life and not to be robbed of the joys and benefits of real 
childhood. Possessed of a lively disposition and an active and 
resourceful mind, young Alfred was often the center of a little 
circle of boys and girls of his own age. He mingled joyously and 
helpfully in their games, their plays, their parades and masquer- 
ades, and was able to suggest some new forms, or new changes 
in their common sports that made the little friends welcome him 
into their circle. 

He had hereditary peculiarities, and was not free from faults 
and foibles, for he was an intensely human child. While not 
specially precocious, he was sometimes amazingly witty for a 
little child. Thus when he had been given what his mother 
thought was good for him at the table, he still begged for more 
until his mother cautiously assented saying that he might have 
just one spoonful more. The child gave a mischievous smile, 
slipped quietly down from his high chair into the kitchen, 
re-appearing, to the surprise of his mother, with the biggest 
spoon he could find, which was used for a ladle, instead of pre- 
senting the little teaspoon lying beside his plate. 

EDUCATION 

The A B C's and the art of reading, Alfred very early mas- 
tered in the home by observation and by a little assistance from 
his older brothers. His outside schooling began in a private 
kindergarten class and was continued in the public grammar 
schools of the city, and in the usual course in the Central High 
School. He was awarded a scholarship at the University of 
Pennsylvania, where he pursued the Arts Course, graduating in 
1900. For his scholarly attainments and conduct there, he was 
elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in his junior 
year. At his graduation he was again awarded a scholarship, 
giving him the opportunity and facilities of a post-graduate 
course in Anglo-Saxon, Old, and Middle English, with its allied 
studies in philosophy and English literature. This was to pre- 
pare him for what he had anticipated to be his life work. He re- 
ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts and also later the degree 
of Master of Arts in 1903, and he hoped to have been a qualified 
candidate forthedegreeofDoctorof Philosophy the following year. 

He plunged into his school studies, as into other things, with 
all his mind and might. His school fellows wondered at the 
apparent facility with which he seemed to master his lessons. 

[12] 



They imagined that he possessed some unusual gifts, added to a 
special love for learning, and the native instincts of a scholar. 
He had, or acquired, the power of close application, and was 
exceedingly, not to say excessively, diligent in whatever he 
attempted. His eagerness thoroughly to understand subjects of 
study led him unconsciously to use his strength to the danger 
point for his physical health. When in the High School, besides 
the elementary and usual course, he took up the study of Latin, 
Greek, and German, and at the same time was pursuing a special 
course in music. In the University Arts Course, beside the usual 
curriculum of Latin and Greek, he added Hebrew, of course, 
studying history, physics, philosophy, with some archaeology, 
and the origin of language, and took special research work into 
the structure and history of Anglo-Saxon, Old, Middle, and 
Modern English, which were continued in post graduate work 
until his health gave way under the strain. He was willing to pay 
the price to become a true scholar. How far he succeeded may 
be inferred from the statements of his instructors and fellows 
given on a later page, and by the section that contains selections 
from his criticisms and writings. 



WIDER EDUCATION 



Nearly three centuries ago John Milton had a conception 
(and there is none better) of education, saying that the true end 
of learning is to repair the ruin of the race, by regaining to know 
God aright, and out of that knowledge to love him, to be like 
him, as we may be the nearest, by possessing our souls of true 
virtue, united to the heavenly grace of faith. To the studies of 
schools Milton would add that of religion, and of travel, the 
latter to enlarge experience, to make wise observation, and the 
acquaintance and friendship of men of honor and whatever of 
things and people are best and most eminent. 

Education through books and schools is good; education by 
personal experience among men of affairs and in society and 
business and in national and international life is better. It aids 
the student to gain an outlook upon real life, gives him wisdom, 
and helps to train his mind to think widely, and to come to more 
accurate judgments, and to attain those elevated ideals which 
form a noble character. 

The opportunity for this kind of wider education through 
travel, to gain personal experience and knowledge, was quickly 
seen and diligently used by our young student. From his child- 
hood Alfred Rice went with his parents each summer vacation 
to different sections of the country, ever finding scenes and sub- 
jects of historic interest, observing people's habits, modes of life 
and of speech, and becoming more familiar with the background 
of the varied events and characters in our national history. 

[13] 



Thus, in his youth two or more summers were spent at differ- 
ent points in the picturesque valley of the Deerfield in Massachu- 
setts. There he had leisure to wander into the places made his- 
toric by the Indian massacres of the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries. He could examine, at leisure, monuments commem- 
orating these events, one of which was a memorial to Captain 
Moses Rice, son of John Rice. Moses Rice was in command of 
a stockade fort for the protection of early settlers in that section. 
In the same region were other places noted as the birthplaces of 
men of national fame. In Conway, Marshall Field, the merchant 
prince of Chicago, was born, and on the hillside to the west of it 
was the native place of G. Stanley Hall, the educator, and to the 
south, the childhood home of the famous poet and author, Wil- 
liam Cullen Bryant, while to the west of it, was that of Charles 
Dudley Warner. The little post town of Ashfield, overlooking 
the Deerfield Valley, was the outing place for a time of such 
literary writers as George William Curtis and others. 

At the east was Shelburne Mountain, the humble home of 
Fidelia Fish, one of the earlier woman missionaries to Persia. To 
the north, in the hill towns of Heath, Rowe, and Hawley, it was 
reputed that the primitive dialect of New England could be 
heard in its simplicity and in its purest forms. This had an 
exceptional interest to the young scholar. 

Some of these midsummer outings also gave facilities for 
weeks together, to explore and enjoy the attractions of the 
Atlantic Coast from the sandy beach of Cape May to the rocky 
cliffs of Old York, with its charming beach and bays. Here also 
authors, artists, merchants, and business men of affairs and of note, 
were often met — such men as W. D. Howells, Thomas Nelson Page, 
Ralph Wells, and others who sought quiet rest and recreation. 

Other vacations gave him an experience of life in the high 
altitudes of the mountains. The Catskills and the White Moun- 
tains possessed great attractions for him. He was enthusiastic 
over the ascent of Mt. Washington to gain a wide view of the 
Presidential range. He was charmed, as every other visitor has 
been, by rambles through Franconia Notch, and in looking at the 
Old Stone Face. The picturesque scenery of the Green Moun- 
-tains and the Connecticut River Valley was explored with youth- 
ful zest. The outings, at another time, took him into the heart 
of the Adirondack wilderness, the secluded home of the deer, 
wherein are numberless charming lakes with their trout, bass, 
pickerel, and land-locked salmon. In marked contrast to this 
wilderness were the excursions into the Berkshires, with their 
palatial cottages, amid the most picturesque scenery of hill, 
valley, lake, and fertile farms one can imagine. 

Historic Saratoga, its medicinal waters, and its society were 
also often visited, but they had less attraction for him than the 

[14] 



scenery of Lake George and Lake Champlain. He followed with 
deep interest the line of Burgoyne's famous march from Mon- 
treal to his defeat and surrender in the Battle of Saratoga. He 
inspected again and again the ruins of the old fort Ticonderoga, 
the dilapidated barracks and fortifications at Crown Point, the 
monuments at Bennington and Burlington, and wandered 
through the gorge of the Ausable Chasm, and in a small steamer 
was excited by shooting the Lachine Rapids of the St. Lawrence. 
The view of Montreal from Mt. Royal charmed him, but did 
not satisfy him until he made a closer examination of the noted 
cathedrals, buildings, barracks, and streets of that attractive 
Canadian city. He wrote out at the time sketches of these 
various places, and secured photographs and other pictures of 
them, which were found among his papers. 

Again these summer travels took in a wider sweep. They 
included weeks of roving about Niagara Falls and the Gorge, 
with frequent excursions into Canada. They extended to the 
middle Northwest, taking in Chicago and its marvelous growth, 
its drainage canal, sailing up and down the Mississippi, the 
Father of Waters, and beyond over the rolling prairies of Iowa, 
across the Missouri and on to Denver, a city a mile above the 
level of the sea. From there tours were made into some of the 
numerous caiions and up the mountain peaks of the Rocky range. 
The young man was excited in his ascent of Pike's Peak, in 
exploring the mines of Cripple Creek and Leadville, drinking the 
Medicine Spring waters of Manitou, or chatting with the Pueblo, 
Ute, and other Indian tribes of New Mexico and Arizona, until 
he greeted the Pacific at Los Angeles and San Pedro. He was 
charmed with the marine gardens, the glass-bottomed boats, and 
the flying fish of Catalina Island. 

He found many special attractions along the Pacific coast, 
such as the old Spanish mission buildings of San Gabriel and 
Santa Barbara, the ostrich farms, the Bret Harte country, the 
Sonora and San Joaquin Valley, the Santa Clara Valley, famous 
for prunes, the Santa Cruz Valley and its " big trees " of redwood, 
and Mt. Hamilton, with its Lick Observatory and telescope 
through which he had a splendid view of the planet Saturn and 
her brilliant rings. He explored San Francisco with its spacious 
harbor, and the Golden Horn, not overlooking Leland Stanford 
University, and the University of California at the very charm- 
ing suburb of Berkeley. 

His excursion into the Bret Harte country he has himself 
graphically described in a paper which will be found in a later 
part of this volume. 

Returning eastward, he gave time to brief exploration of 
Salt Lake and some peculiarities of the Mormons. 

[15] 



He found a trip around the Lake from Chicago eastward to 
possess great attractions, from the historic places and waters 
which were passed in that journey, as well as great pleasure and 
benefit to his health. 

Altogether this wider education added much to the sum of 
his knowledge and gave him a broader and a more accurate view 
of life, which his friends and fellow-associates were not slow to 
recognize. 

LOVE OF MUSIC 

The fellow-students of Alfred Rice said that he had a strong, 
almost passionate love of music. The taste for it, inherited from 
his mother, he gratified very early by taking lessons on the piano 
and on other musical instruments, attaining more than ordinary 
skill in expression, particularly on the clarinet. While a mere 
lad, he played with such a pleasing personal interpretation, 
the music of well-known composers as to receive the happy 
plaudits of his auditors at private and at school concerts. 

He became a member of several musical organizations. He 
was connected with the orchestra of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania duting his student life, and the members of the orchestra 
under the direction of Prof. H. A. Clarke, Mus.D., Professor of 
Music in the University, often met for rehearsals at his home. 
He was persuaded sometimes to join with other members of the 
Orchestra who were engaged to provide music during the season 
for seaside hotels. He was also sought out by the Director of the 
Philadelphia Symphony Society to take part in some of its public 
concerts in the Academy of Music. 

Although he pursued music as a pastime and from the love 
of it, yet he did not permit it to interfere with his literary studies. 
He was so ready, however, to contribute to the enjoyment of 
others that he often went beyond his strength. Missionary E. G. 
Fowler, of Salt Lake, on learning of his death, says : " I remember 
him so vividly at our piano, with his deft fingers drawing out his 
heart and ours. His musical soul will have its fill now." And 
another who was herself a singer wrote: "I thought of him at 
once as at our piano where he entranced us by his execution, and 
it still seems but as yesterday." 

RELIGIOUS LIFE 

Coming of a Puritan ancestry Alfred Rice's religious ideals 
and faith were deep and sincere, rather than demonstrative or 
dogmatic. He had no sympathy with a half-Christian, half-pagan 
system of education. He was not misled by that twisted philos- 
ophy of religion, nor by that perveted interpretation of Christian- 
ity which has found some academic and scholastic followers in 
America, and which in the country of its origin has evolved the 
superman, and come to its full fruitage in the bloodiest and most 

[i6] 



demonized of world-wars, conspicuous for lust and cruelty and 
murder, surpassing any that the earth ever witnessed. 

The theory that limited education to the physica. and mtel- 
lectual, to the neglect in whole or in part of the spiritual nature 
of man, found no favor with him. He was a quiet and caretul 
student of the Christian text-book of religion, and when duty 
became clear to him he voluntarily became a meniber by con- 
fession of the Princeton Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. 
He was also an active member of Christian Endeavor societies, 
the Sunday-school, and Bible classes, and was interested in 
missions and other organizations, including the Y. M. L.. A. ot 
the University of Pennsylvania, in which he was an active and 

helpful worker. . ,.^ , • n u d-ki^ 

Of the nature of his religious life and influence, the bible 
class of which he had been president, in a minute adopted by the 
class stated: "We loved and admired him, not alone tor his high 
intellectual attainments, but for what he was morally and spirit- 
ually." The teacher of the class added, "No young man who 
has passed through my class was more helpful to the teacher or 

^ ""^^A prominent Christian worker in the far West lovingly 
writes of him: "The memory is very precious to me, and his selt- 
sacrificing, kindly, courteous spirit has certainly made a decided 
and beneficial influence upon me, for which I shall have constant 
reason to praise God." Another leading worker says: In our 
memory there is a sweet perfume of a refined character, a loving 
disposition, a courteous manner, always cheerful." . , 

The depth of his faith and the power of God s sustaining 
grace is strikingly illustrated in a scene during his last illness. 
Some time before losing consciousness, he called his mother to 
his bedside, asking her to pray that he might be willing to yield 
himself wholly to God's will as he had already prayed himselt 
that he might have strength to do. If he was to ive, that his lite 
might be more useful; if not to live, that it would please God to 
take him soon, and to spare him from long, severe suitering. Uod 
appeared to answer these prayers, for soon afterward he passed 
into an unconscious state until the great change came. 

His earthly career was closed at Hinsdale, Mass., in the 
Berkshires, October i, 1903. , 1 • 

A life of preparation which seemed short reckoned in years, 
may be truly long when measured by heart throbs of love and 
spiritual experiences that continue through unnumbered ages and 
eons in the endless life. 

"And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true 
God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ.'^ 

I17] 



CHARACTER 

The end of life is to know and love God, the end of educa- 
tion is holy character. Alfred Rice sought to be friendly and 
helpful to others, for he loved to have friends. He hated shams; 
he was chary of credit for himself, preferring rather to give honor 
than to receive it. He had a deep interest in the progress of 
civil, economical and social betterment, and desired to contribute 
his share toward the advancement of humanity and liberty, 
virtue and righteousness. His outlook on life and its activities 
was remarkable for one who had just passed his twenty-fifth 
birthday. How wide and wise that outlook was can be inferred 
from a few articles selected from half a hundred or more written 
to the London magazine Leisure Ho^ir, which appear in the col- 
lection of his writings. The editor. Dr. C, H. Irwin, said of the 
writer of these articles: "His communications which appeared 
under the head of our 'Oversea Notes' were always most readable 
and valuable. He had the happy art of selecting exactly the 
facts which people want to know, and of expressing his ideas in 
clear and concise language." Similar commendations of his other 
writings were expressed by Dean Penniman, Prof. Weygandt, 
and the editor of the Alumni Register of the University of Penn- 
sylvania. 

But a sketch of the outward circumstances and events of 
one's life does not really touch the inner nature and character of 
that life. What that was or appeared to be to those who knew 
him may be inferred by a few among many letters sent to his 
family. Referring to a brief summary of his outward life, one of 
his most intimate college associates writes: " But in a life like his, 
what a small part is played by the unusual career in the literary 
field! Far as the strength and power of his intellect surpassed 
those of his physical frame, even so far did the attainment of his 
social life surpass, uplift, and ennoble his mental being, directing 
his keen intelligence, always into channels and pursuits of the 
loftiest nature. How I love him! I will not say 'loved,' for the 
soul-life — the only life that really counts — is with us still, in 
blessed companionship, and will be forever." 

Another of his University classmates says: "I have lost 
one who was even more to me than my dearest college friend. I 
have always looked forward with so much pleasure to the time 
when we should both be working in our different lines of work, 
and I have thought of how his friendship would come to mean 
more and more." 

Still another writes: "Alfred is our dearest comrade; I place 
him at the head of the list of my friends; he was so good." 

Prof. Felix E. Schelling, under whom Mr. Rice studied, 
says: "I have always esteemed him for his talents and the 
conscientious use which he habitually made of them; above 

[i8] 



all for a simple sincerity of character which endeared him to us 
all. I know that he is fit — as few of us are fit — for that after life 
to which his spirit is more akin than to this world of ours." 

LITERARY WORKS 

Although but a young man, Alfred Rice was a frequent con- 
tributor, as we have said, to the Leisure Hour, of London, Eng- 
land, and to magazines in America. He gave special study to the 
metrical versions of the Psalms in English, and read a prelim- 
inary paper on that subject to a literary circle in the University 
of Pennsylvania, a paper which was highly commended. He 
intended to enlarge and perfect it, but his illness prevented the 
completion. It was left in manuscript a fragment, and is now 
published in this fragmentary form, and may perhaps suggest 
that the theme is worthy of a fuller and more complete treatment 
by some other competent pen. 

He became also an intelligent student of Old English verse 
while engaged in a general survey of the entire field of classic 
English literature. His investigations were conducted in the 
scientific spirit aiming to know the local conditions and sur- 
roundings under which an author wrote. In the case of some 
American writers, he personally visited their former haunts and 
homes, and the places rendered historic by their works, that he 
might more fully enter into the spirit of their production and 
more accurately estimate their value. The nature of these studies 
may be seen in the article entitled "In the Bret Harte Country," 
which fairly indicates the thorough research revealed in a score 
of his unpublished essays. 

With the modesty of a true scholar, he never made a display 
of his knowledge, hence in social intercourse few suspected the 
extent of his reading. He was credited as having a grace of 
manner and a quiet ease in conversation that caused him to be 
warmly welcomed in every social circle that he entered. He had 
a sense of humor and a skill in narrative and story-telling that 
is fairly illustrated by his sketch of "Hiram Porter McGinniss," 
a sketch selected almost at random from scores of similar stories 
found among his manuscripts. 

In study and in recreation he had an enthusiasm which was 
shown by the scholarly zeal with which he aided for a time in the 
slow and plodding work of reconstructing and cataloguing the 
historical documents and books in the library of the American 
Sunday-school Union. He was quick to perceive the merit of 
some old work that might throw light on the origin and early 
history of education and of Bible schools. He was keen to discern 
the value of some antique book which illustrated Old English or 
some version of the Psalms. His critical candor and balance of 
mind are revealed in the numerous essays which he left, one of 

[19] 



which on Wordsworth is reproduced in the selection of his literary 
works, and also may be seen in his paper on the "Tannhauser 
Legends." 

His genial social nature which endeared him to a wide circle 
of acquaintances has been already indicated. A leading educator 
in the West says, "I have repeatedly heard expressions of admira- 
tion and affection, touching the thoughtfulness, gentleness, and 
manliness of Alfred." A business man in the same section wrote, 
"We fully recognized his splendid character, and his charming 
and lovable personality." Still another, from Washington, D. C, 
spoke of the same characteristics, "a lovable personality, which 
made everyone his friend." An intelligent observer from the 
Northwest alluded to his suffering which was hidden in his 
system and adds, "We marvel to remember the interest that he 
manifested in passing scenes, and that he was so thoughtful of 
the comfort of others." One of his friends speaks of his "good 
nature and fund of quiet humor; attributes not often found to 
such an extent in any one person." 

The Rev. Dr. Henry Clay Trumbull, who passed through a 
similar trial to that of his father, and who was, when he wrote, 
looking through the thin veil into the life beyond, among other 
things, says to his father: "God seems to have loved and hon- 
ored your dear boy, and to have counted him fit for activity and 
usefulness in a larger and more important sphere than he could 
have had here. He may even now be evangelizing a planet, or be 
doing a work of ministry there far beyond his utmost possibilities 
in the flesh." 



[20] 



Literary Works of 
Alfred Belden Rice, A.B., A.M. 

(University of Pennsylvania) 

SELECTED FROM HIS PUBLISHED AND 
UNPUBLISHED WRITINGS 

Edited by 
Edwin Wilbur Rice, D.D., Lit. D. 



Metrical Versions of the Psalms in English 

(A Fragment) 

By Alfred Belden Rice, A.B., A.M. 

THAT the English Bible influenced our literature more than 
any other one book, has long since become a commonplace 
statement. It is not so generally recognized, although 
equally true, that the Book of Psalms is one of the chief channels 
through which that influence entered. Of the sixty-six sacred 
books, none influenced English poetry, if not English literature 
in general, so much as the Psalms. Aside from their devotional 
character, the poetry of the Psalms has appealed to men of all 
ages. This collection of lyrics conforms not only with the theo- 
retical demands of permanent literature, in presenting the 
universal emotions of the human heart; it has proved itself 
permanent by the test of time, in that it has endured for 
hundreds and thousands of years. 

The Psalms have always gone hand in hand with periods of 
religious revival and have perhaps been more accessible to the 
people than any other parts of the Bible. In 1229, when the 
Council of Toulouse interdicted the Bible to the laity, it made 
the Psalter an exception. In France, the Psalms, in the form of 
Marot's metrical translation, constituted a powerful exponent of 
the Reformation. In the Crusades, it is reported that the pil- 
grims beguiled themselves on the march by singing certain 
Psalms and hymns. And in our own day we show our particular 
attraction to the Psalms by publishing them separately in our 
prayer-books, hymnals, and Testaments. 

The influence which the Psalms have exerted on our litera- 
ture may be conveniently divided into: 

1. An indirect influence displaying itself in works the spirit 
or verbal expressions of which are traceable to the Psalms — 
works in which, to use a musical illustration, overtones vibrate 
to the easily discovered fundamentals of the Psalms. Byron in 
his "Hebrew Melodies" and Milton throughout his works are 
good examples of influence of this kind. 

2. Direct influence displayed in verbal or other references to 
or quotations from the Psalms. To formulate a list of English 
authors who show such contact would be practically the same as 
making a catalogue of the majority of the men of letters. 

3. Direct influence displayed in metrical translations of 
paraphrases of the Psalms. It is this influence which I shall now 

[23 1 



endeavor briefly to consider. If at times I shall seem to take the 
reader somewhat afar from English poetry narrowly defined, let 
him consider the nature of the material to be treated. The 
multitude of men who have tried their hands at metrical versions 
of the Psalms is indeed a heterogeneous company. In it we shall 
find the great poet in his youth "dinging upon David" as the 
musician first drums five-finger exercises upon his piano. There 
also is the devout man versifying the Psalms as an outlet for his 
religious emotions, and the scoundrel imposing the task upon 
himself as a penance; the philosopher who translates as a pleasant 
pastime, and the fool who does so because he knows no better. 
Besides these, we shall find among the translators of the Psalms 
the parson, the courtier, the linguist, the hymnist, the monarch, 
the adventurer, the lawyer, the school teacher, the musician, the 
architect, the dramatist, the physician, the poet laureate, the 
type founder, and in fact almost every other professional man 
to say nothing of many a gentlewoman who did the Psalms 
between the stitches of her embroidery. At times we shall feel 
that the true poet figures far too little in the list, for the number 
of the mechanical and uninspired versions of the Psalms perpe- 
trated in English seem almost infinite.* But that some of the 
versions or parts of them contain much true poetry cannot be 
denied, as I shall try to show later. 

Again, we shall find that the method of treatment has dif- 
fered widely with the various poets. Some have translated most 
literally, others most freely. Many have made evangelical ex- 
pansions from the Psalms, and some have even treated the 
Hebrew merely as a storehouse for texts of their own produc- 
tions. 

As for metres we shall find almost all forms known to our 
language, and some that are not known elsewhere. There are 
hexameters, heroics, blank verse, ballad measures, odd forms, 
Asclepiads, Elegiacs, scores of hymn metres, complicated lyric 
forms, etc. 

Before taking up the actual material in hand, let me add 
just one more word. It is this. I do not think we shall be quite 
fair towards this great number of translators of the Psalms if we 
do not keep before us the obvious and yet easily forgotten limita- 
tions under which the translators were compelled to work. The 
first limitation is the great familiarity which every cultured man 
has with the Authorized Version of the Psalms. The translator 
of Virgil is to some extent limited in the same way. But the 
translator of the Psalms much more so. For while many were 
and are still familiar with the story of iEneid, all men of culture. 



*As old Fuller slyly said of the Sternhold and Hopkins version, most of the translators seem to 
have drunk more deeply of Jordan than of Helicon. And Connley says concerning them: "They are 
to far from doing justice to David that methinks they revile him worse than Shimei." 

[24] 



whatever their faith, are famihar with not only the contents but 
commonly with the verbal expressions of the Psalms, and any 
metrical rendering changing these verbal expressions uncon- 
sciously strains our ears and jars a memory. Furthermore, most 
of the metrical versions of the Psalms were written to be sung 
and the metrical demands of the music hampered the poet's 
freedom. And lastly, the mechanical characteristics or form of 
Hebrew poetry is totally different from the English metrical 
system of versification, and is therefore incapable of being repro- 
duced in English. 

With regard to the Hebrew Psalms, the questions concern- 
ing their authorship, date, or dates of composition, and musical 
accompaniment are interesting, but are foreign to our present 
purpose. Suffice it to say that the Psalms constitute one of the 
great anthologies of the world expressing the intense emotional 
life of the people of Israel. The book is almost entirely lyric in 
character, for the element of drama remained in an undeveloped 
state throughout the history of the Hebrews. The subjective 
feelings of joy, hope, sorrow, triumph, etc., make up the themes 
of the book. Doubtless we have lost many secular lyrics of the 
Hebrews. Traces of such compositions have remained in the 
"Song of the Well" in Numbers and in David's lament over 
Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam.: i). But the Psalms are almost 
wholly devotional. Through external nature and the experiences 
of the human heart, the Psalmist always sees his God. 

But to begin with our material. As for the Anglo-Saxon and 
Middle English versions, I have not as yet made any systematic 
search for them. I shall therefore merely give titles of those that 
have casually come to my attention, realizing that the list is by 
no means complete.* 

Other metrical versions that I have found mentioned before 
the Reformation are Seven Penitential Psalms (1414) by T. 
Brampton and printed by the Percy Society, a translation of 
St. Gerome's Gallican Psalter into English (mentioned by Hol- 
land: Psalmists of Britain, 1842), date circa Hen. H or Rich. I. 

The Reformation gave an impetus to the production of 
metrical Psalms. Its leaders, Luther and Justus Jonas in Ger- 
many, and Marot, Calvin, and Beza in France, wrote versions 
which were at once inspirations for Becon,^ Wisdome, and 
Coverdale. The Psalms by the first two men were incorporated 



*Later Mr. Rice examined metrical versions in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English. Thus besides 
the Northumberland Psalter, and a possible version by Richard Rolle. he notes a Kentish Psalter, a 
version by Alfred not finished, a Latin Psalter with interlinear Anglo-Saxon gloss, a translation into 
Middle English which some place in the Ninth Century, an Anglo-Saxon version edited by Thorpe 
which some ascribe to Aldhelm, but Thorpe assigns it to a later date, a version by Aldhelm, circo 709 — 
according to Bede, Bruce's Paris Psalter, and several others as his notes and subsequent criticisms 
fully prove.— E. W. R. 

'Thomas Becon (or Beacon), 1510-1570, wrote "many works, prayers, and pieces." Sometimes 
under the assumed name of "Theodore Basil." His works were edited by John Daye, 1563, and by 
Parker Society Camb., 1843-1844. — E. W. R. 

Us] 



into the Sternhold and Hopkins version and are perhaps its 
oldest portions. Fifteen "Goostly Psalms" (1539) by Miles 
Coverdale, have, I believe, come down to us and have been 
traced to German sources (Luther). In general it is said that 
our English Psalm singing sprang from the intercourse of the 
Gospellers with Luther and Melancthon, and from familiarity 
with their writings.^ Metrical versions of the Psalms were set 
to ballad tunes^ and afterward to special music by the leaders of 
the Reformation. They were then regarded as close representa- 
tives of the Hebrew form of poetry, much less being known 
about Hebrew poetry then than now. Under Edward VI, met- 
rical Psalms flourished. The German influence as to metres 
ceased, and the ballad measure of Chevy Chase was substituted. 
In 1549, Sir Thomas Wyatt published Seven Penitential Psalms 
in metre after the model of Alamini. In the same year, Robert 
Crowley, Vicar of St. Giles, published the whole Psalter set to 
harmonized chants. But these attempts, together with Parker's 
(if his version belongs here), were soon eclipsed. 

I come now to the Sternhold and Hopkins, or Old Version, 
which, from a historical standpoint, is the most important of all 
old metrical translations to be considered. Thos. Sternhold was 
Groom of the Robes to Henry VIII and Edward VI. The date of 
his birth is uncertain — probably about 1500. He died in 1549. 
At court he seems to have been noted for poetical propensities 
and great piety. Feeling that the songs of the time were shock- 
ingly profane, he undertook a metrical version of the Psalms 
which he hoped might become popular at court. He published a 
small volume apparently in the year of his death, 1549. The 
title was: "Certayne Psalms chose out of the Psalter of David 
and drawn into Englishe Metre by Thomas Sternhold, grome of 
ye Kynges Maiesties Robes. Printed by Edwayr Whitchurch," 
This volume which is now in the British Museum contained only 
nineteen Psalms, but in the latter part of the year 1549 another 
volume apparently put forth by John Hopkins adds eighteen 
new Psalms by Sternhold as well as seven by Hopkins. These 
seven, however, are carefully set apart from Sternhold's Psalms, 
and Hopkins further cautions the reader against supposing his 
work the product of Sternhold. In a Psalter published by John 
Daye in 1561, three additional Psalms by Sternhold appear, 
making the complete number done by him forty. These forty 
appear in the editions of 1562, 1563, and all subsequent editions. 
Hopkins, it has already been said, contributed seven to an 
edition of 1549, but in 1562 there appeared "The Whole Book of 
Psalms, collected into English Metre by T. Sternhold, J. Hopkins 

'It is now held that this, as everything German, has been greatly exaggerated. — E. W. R. 

sold Psalm books contain the various metrical Psalms with the first lines of some secular ballad 
prefixed, to indicate the tune, just as if we should write the first lines of say "Yankee Doodle" above 
our Psalms today. — See Abbey Relig. Thought in Old English Verse. 

[26I 



and Others, conferred with the Ebreu, with apt Notes to sing 
them withal." The "others" of the title may be identified to 
some extent by the initials printed in the successive editions. 
W. K. stands for William Keith, a Scotchman who shared exile 
with Knox in 1555; W. W. for Wm. Whittingham, a brother-in- 
law of Calvin; T. N. for Thos. Norton; M. for John Markand; 
H. W. for Henry Wisdome; T. C. for an unknown person, unless 
John Craig be meant. 

This, in brief, was the origin of the so-called Sternhold and 
Hopkins version of the Psalms. Many changes in text were made 
in the countless editions which followed, but a discussion of these 
here would extend the subject beyond the limits of my present 
paper, and I shall merely call attention to some of the character- 
istics of the version together with the influence it exerted from 
an historical standpoint. The purpose of the work was, according 
to old Fuller, to "make the Psalms portable in man's memories, 
verses being twice as light as the same bulk of prose." He adds 
that the poets seem to have "drunk more deeply of Jordan than 
of Helicon during their labors." Sternhold dedicated his edition 
to Edward VI, and in the dedication thanks God for giving them 
a king "that forbiddeth not layman to gather and lease (i.e., 
glean) in the lordes harvest," "and he trusts as his grace taketh 
pleasure to hear them song sometimes, so he wyll also delight to 
see and read them and command them to be song by others." 

Sternhold evidently liked his own composition, for we hear 
that he sung his Psalms to his organ for his goodly solace. Stern- 
hold used one metre in his Psalms (except Ps. 120) — viz., the 
ballad metre of Chevy Chase. And this selection of metre was 
far more important than the Psalms that he set to it; for either 
in this form (with two rhymes) or that of Hopkins (with four 
rhymes) it became the prevailing metre (C. M.) of the old and 
new versions of England and Scotland and of innumerable 
metrical Psalms and hymns. It is needless to say that the Stern- 
hold and Hopkins version was very popular. It had a larger 
circulation than any other work in the language except the 
authorized version of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. 
It was regarded as little less than inspired, and even its old-fash- 
ioned grammar and faulty versification were considered sacred. 
After its adoption under Elizabeth, it continued to be used by 
the Church of England for one hundred and thirty-five years, 
when it was superseded by the new version of Tate and Brady. 
The Non-conformists used it down to the time of Watts. Over 
three hundred editions are said to have been printed. Having 
read only quoted lines of the work and not the book as a whole, I 
am hardly prepared to pass judgment on its merits or defects. 
Tentatively, however, I will say that it seems to be justly cen- 
sured as a rough and uncouth translation although the language 

[27] 



used is at times vigorous and forceful. Tate and Brady's version 
is now generally conceded to have been an improvement on 
Sternhold and Hopkins's. The only Psalm from the latter still 
current is the Twenty-third (My Shepherd is the Living Lord). 

For the sake of following out the version of Sternhold and 
Hopkins from its first draft in 1549 to its completion in 1562, I 
have disregarded the chronology. During the reign of Mary, 
Psalm singing ceased in England but was carried on by the exiles. 
Marot's version of the Psalms was sung in Geneva, and there the 
English and Scotch versifiers heard them. Matthew Parker's 
version is traceable to this influence. It was printed by John 
Daye, without date, but that it was written early we know from 
a sentence in Parker's diary under the year 1557: "Absolvi 
Psalteritim versum metrice lingus vulgari." Parker used various 
metres: C. M., L. M., 8's, and one or two curious measures. His 
authorship of the work has been doubted, but both the external 
evidence and the internal evidence of Ps. XIX written to the 
acrostic "Mattheus Parkerus" seem to refute the supposition of 
doubt, so that as with Home, if Parker did not write it at least 
some one of the same name did. The version is said to be a good 
translation, but unfortunately no copy is known outside of the 
Library of Corpus Christi College. A reprint is greatly needed. 

Upon the accession of Elizabeth, Psalm singing was revived 
and became very popular. Elizabeth herself encouraged it, and 
at one service when the Psalms were sung after the Bishop's 
sermon at St. Paul's Cross, six thousand people were present. The 
popularity of the version of Sternhold and Hopkins has already 
been mentioned. But other versifications appeared. Sir Philip 
Sidney, in collaboration with his sister, the Countess of Pem- 
broke, made a translation of some, if not of all, of the Psalms. 
Julian says that Sidney translated Ps. 1-43 and that his sister 
completed the version. Coles, however, affirms that the whole 
version extended only to the 43d Psalm. As none of Sidney's 
writings were published in his lifetime, we do not know the date 
of composition of his Psalms. They were first printed in London 
in 1823. Ruskin edited them under the title of "Rock Honey- 
comb," in the second volume of his "Bibliotheca Pastorum." 
They are written in the capricious measures of the lighter Eliz- 
abethan style and were probably not intended for congregational 
singing. Julian mentions Psalms 84, 92 and 96 as the best. 

Two other works of this period are a version, apparently 
complete, by Francis and Christopher Davison and others (ms. 
Harl, in British Museum) and seven penitential Psalms by 
Edmund Spenser, unfortunately lost. The Psalms of William 
Hunnis, though still preserved, are only accessible at the British 
Museum, and certain other English libraries. (R. Hannihurst — 
4 Psalms in Hexameters.) Other writers of the period are John 

[281 



Craig, the Scotchman, Henry Lok, Robert Pont, Nicholas 
Breton, William Whittingham, William Kethe, Henry Wisdome, 
Thomas Norton, etc. Some of these have already been rnentioned 
in connection with their contribution to the old version. The 
14th Psalm versified by Queen Elizabeth has been preserved, but 
so far as I know it is in MS. form only. Selected Psalms were 
published by John Donne in 1633, by Phineas Fletcher (1633), 
and by George Herbert (1632). Bishop Hall translated Psalms 
i-io in 1607 and Lord Bacon did a few in 1625. (Fuller's Worth- 
ies Libraries.) R. Crashaw brought out some in 1648. Between 
1603-1620, Henry Dod published a complete version which 
according to all accounts must have been utterly worthless. 
Wither says that it was burned by the hangman. The latter 
(I mean George Wither, not the hangman) made a complete 
metrical version of the Psalms between 1619-1632. Wither was 
a sagacious fellow and so anticipated our own times as to try to 
get a monopoly on metrical Psalm making. Like the monopolist 
of today, he secured a specia' privilege from the government by 
which the king ordered his Psalms to be bound with the Bible 
and every Bible not having them to be seized. But some of the 
details of the monopoly were hard to enforce and the "corner" 
in Psalms broke. The metres of Wither were more regular than 
Sidney's and the version was intended to be sung; for tunes were 
written by Orlando Gibbons. 

In 1636, George Sandys published a complete version of the 
Psalms for which Henry Lawes supplies the music. The metres 
used are the L. M. couplets, 7's, and other metres. Dryden and 
James Montgomery thought very highly of this version. Henry 
Lawes, it will be remembered, was closely associated with Milton, 
having written the music to the Comus, and acted the part of 
Thyrsis in the same. Sandys also published paraphrases of other 
parts of the Bible, including the Book of Job. Dryden ranked 
him as "the best versifier of the former age." Montgomery 
praises his version extravagantly as "incomparably the most 
poetic in the language." 

Coming now to the Puritan influence we find a series of very 
literal translations. One of the first of these was the New Eng- 
land Psalter, commonly known as the Bay Psalm Book or Psal- 
ter, published in 1640 at Cambridge, New England. 

Another New England Psalter was published in 1650, being 
in the nature of a revision of the Rouse version made by President 
Dunster of Harvard College, Rich, Lyon, and thirty others. 
Rouse's version was itself a revision of the old version of Stern- 
hold and Hopkins. It was published in 1641. Scotland had for 
the most part used the old version although various churches had 
different renderings by other authors. The first complete version 
was printed at Edinburgh in 1564 and remained in use until the 



29 



middle of the next century. This was the version of Knox, 
Walsh, Melville, and others. In 1643 the Westminster Assembly 
undertook the selection of a new version, and, after much con- 
sideration, adopted the version of Francis Rous (Rouse) which 
had been published in 1641. Some substitutions, however, were 
made by the Assembly and certain passages from the old Scotch 
version and from other sources were inserted to take the place of 
rejected lines of Rous's version. The resulting edition was pub- 
lished in 1650 and this version has continued to the present time, 
when it is sung in the regular services of the United Presbyterian 
Churches, and occasionally in other churches as well. Sir Walter 
Scott said of it: "Its expression, though homely, is plain, forcible, 
and intelligible, and very often possesses a rude sort of majesty 
which would be ill exchanged by more elegance." Many of our 
good old grandmothers still retain the version word by word in 
their minds. They learned it, it is said, on their old colonial 
stair-cases, the method being to descend a step for every verse 
committed. The House of Commons took kindly to Rouse's 
version and endeavored to make it the official version of England 
as well as of Scotland. But the House of Lords were opposed to 
the Commons and favored a version by William Barton, the 
various editions of whose work appeared in 1644, 1645 and 1646. 
The opposition between the houses resulted in the exclusion of 
both versions from official acceptance. 

The next important name which we have to consider is that 
of John Milton He versified twenty of the Psalms in all, two 
of which (114 and 136) he did at the age of fifteen. The 114th 
Psalm he also translated into Greek. The remaining eighteen he 
translated in the years 1648 and 1653. With the exception of the 
114th, the translations are quite literal, and in nine of his Psalms 
he even goes so far as to italicise all words which are not transla- 
tions of the original Hebrew — a circumstance which I think well 
illustrates the spirit of all of the Puritan versifiers of the Psalms. 
Milton used quite a large variety of metres for the small bulk of 
his work. We find, for example, decasyllabic rhymed couplets, 
terza rima, split septinarii, and even ode forms, and the like. 

In 165 1 Bishop King of Chichester made a complete trans- 
lation of the Psalms, and Thomas, Lord Fairfax, made another 
which seems to have been too poor to publish. The latter is 
mentioned in the Preface to Cotton's edition of the Bible. 

Follov/ing the Puritan period came an inevitable reaction. 
Richard Baxter blew the reveille of the new band of versifiers 
when he proclaimed "The ear alloweth greater melody than 
strict versions will allow." In 1692 he published his version and 
the fashion of the moment demanded a verse of less variety than 
heretofore. Baxter was equal to the problem, however, and 
devised a scheme of bracketing words so that L. M. might be 

[30] 



converted into C. M., or C. M. into S. M., for ignorant congre- 
gations. I have not seen Baxter's version, but I am inclined to 
think that such a composition must have been more ingenious 
than poetic. Other versions of the period are S. Woodford (1667), 
Miles Smyth (1668), Luke Milbourne (1698), and Sir John Den- 
han's, not published until 1715. In 1691-2, John Patrick pub- 
lished a version which historically demands an added word. He 
did not translate the Psalms literally but paraphrased them by 
the method of evangelical interpretation. Parker had followed 
this method to some extent, but Watts following Parker and 
Patrick carried the method out to its extreme though logical 
conclusion. How that method has come into modern hymnody 
will be mentioned in considering Watts. 

I have discovered a passing reference to another version 
which may belong here, or may not. Its date of composition and 
character I am unable to determine. I refer to the version of Dr. 
Gibb's (18 Psalms). It was probably not literal, for Dean Swift 
wrote on a leaf of a copy the following: " I warn the readers that 
this is a lie, both here and all over the book; for these are not the 
Psalms of David, but of Dr. Gibb." 

I come now to the version of Tate and Brady. The earliest 
MS. to be noted is a page and a half in the Bodleian Library, 
undated. Following this we have "The first XX Psalms, by 
N. Brady and N. Tate," also in the Bodleian Library and dated 
1695. Finally we have the complete version of 1696 which ob- 
tained the sanction of the sovereign and replaced the old version 
— not, however, without some opposition, for Beveridge bitterly 
opposed it (1710), and one congregation cast it out of their 
service. Until very recent times Tate and Brady's version was 
printed in the Book of Common Prayer used in England and 
America. Julian finds three different kinds of translations in the 
work: i. Ornate Psalms, for the most part in L. M. (Cf. 139). 

2. Spiritless productions poor in language and generally in C. M. 

3. A few examples of sweet and simple verse. See 34, 42, 51, 84. 

It is apparently impossible to divide the authorship of the 
version. Some have thought Dryden had a hand in Tate's por- 
tion. The work displays to a degree the artificial style of the 
period, but, as Julian remarks, "He who is condemned to tread 
the waste of metrical Psalters will consider it an advance on its 
predecessors." Political allusions have been discovered in the 
i8th and 45th Psalms. Concerning the authors, Nahum Tate 
was an Irish clergyman of considerable note in literature. In 
1692 he succeeded Shadwell as poet laureate and he was asso- 
ciated with Dryden in the composition of Absalom and Achitho- 
phel, the second part being generally attributed to him. Tate is 
notorious however chiefly because of his version of " King Lear" 
which long held the stage and which as every one knows turned 

[31I 



Shakespeare's play into a reconciling drama. Tate's coadjutor, 
Nicholas Brady, on the other hand, was an obscure schoolmaster 
who translated Virgil and wrote a tragedy and numerous sermons. 

Joseph Addison published various Psalms in the Spectator 
from time to time. The 19th and the 23d are still popular. 

The next important version is that of Isaac Watts. It cannot 
be called a translation, but, as he says himself, it is an imitation 
of the Psalms in New Testament language. Like Parker and 
Patrick, he applied the method of evangelical interpretation to 
the Psalms, but carried the method to such an extent as to 
warrant the claim which he makes of being the first to apply the 
method to the versification of the Psalms. Not only is the New 
Testament thought thus thrust upon the version, but many 
parts of the Psalms are omitted entirely because Watts consid- 
ered many of them not adapted to present singing. Of course his 
version was made primarily to be sung. Watts's own words 
quoted from his introduction will doubtless make his attitude 
somewhat clearer: 

"I come therefore to the third thing I proposed; and that is 
to explain my own design, which is in short this: namely, to 
accommodate the book of Psalms to Christian worship. And in 
order to do this, it is necessary to divest David and Aspah, etc., 
of every other character but that of a Psalmist and a saint and 
to make them always speak the common sense of a Christian." 

We see then that while Watts's version is not complete in 
the sense of containing versions of all of the one hundred and 
fifty Psalms, yet it was as complete as Watts thought any modern 
version adapted to music ought to be. Furthermore, that Watts 
was not deterred by lethargy is proven by the two and occas- 
ionally three versions he prints of one and the same Psalm, and 
by the six immense volumes which contain his complete works. 
Many of the versifications of the Psalms he made in his youth, 
but the complete edition was published in 1719. As already stated 
we cannot call the version a translation, and indeed it is a very 
free paraphrase, for not only are portions left out, but much 
prefatory matter is boldly inserted, having no foundation on the 
Psalms. Watts has been censured for his turgid epithets and 
gaudy ornament. His preposterous, false rhymes might well have 
been added as well as his wrenched order of words which after all 
the wrenching, often only imperfectly fit the metre. (See Ps. 24 
for imperfect rhymes; Ps. 2 for New Testament interpretation.) 
Watts copied extensively from other versions and from the New 
Testament. Especially frequently does he take lines from Tate 
and Brady, Denham and Patrick. The influence which Watts's 
Psalms and Hymns exerted was enormous. Many of our ortho- 
dox grandmothers can recite them verbatim today, and more 
than one of our ancestors had to commit the Psalms and Hymns 

I32] 



on Sunday afternoons. Watts was even used as a mode of pun- 
ishment, and no doubt he served well in that capacity. I am told 
that one of the typical cases was to take a little boy who had 
been naughty on the Sabbath day, tie him to a bedpost in a 
dark room, and make him commit the hymn beginning "Thine 
Earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we Love." (Dodridge.) I suppose the 
little girls in a similar position were given the lines on the regula- 
tion of the tongue for reference in after life. I might add how 
Watts came to be parsed, how he was buried in birthday books 
and so on, but these considerations are foreign to my subject. 
The one thing to be remembered about Watts is that he is 
responsible for the method of evangelical interpretation of the 
Psalms employed today in so many of our hymns. (See Psalm 
72, second part.) The Lenox Library contains Franklin's edition 
of Watts's hymns, 1741, Joel Barlow's amendment to his Psalms, 
1785, and Timothy Dwight's alterations to both, in 1800. 

Following Watts we have a series of versifications which I 
pass with merely a nominal reference. Sir Richard Blackmore, 
1721, made a complete translation, dedicated to George L It is 
said to be quite literal. Among other versions are: Anne Steele 
(poems), 1760, 47 Psalms; C. Wesley, 1738, 1743, ff. See poetical 
works of Wesley, 1868-72. He adopts Watts's system. Christo- 
pher Smart (1765) inserted so much New Testament material 
that the character of the Psalms is lost. James Merrick 
(1765) tried to follow Lowth's theories. Home quoted it with 
commendation. "Immeasurable verbiage," said Montgomery. 
Further versions are noted in the list at the end of the essay. 

In 1883 Thos. MacKellar, the type-founder and poet of 
Philadelphia, published a volume entitled "Hymns and Metrical 
Psalms." This edition contained versions of Ps. 4, 5 (fragment), 
8, 10, 19, 46, 62, 86, 92, 93, 97, 100, 121, 145. They are written 
in various hymn metres. 

A more recent version of the Psalms is that by Dr. Abraham 
Coles published in 1888. Besides the metrical Psalms the volume 
contains "an historical sketch of the French, English, and 
Scotch Metrical versions," but the sketch is very fragmentary 
and popular in treatment. As for the quality of his versification, 
by the time I reached the consideration of this version, my mind 
was hardly in a mood favorable for the appreciation of the 
Psalms in metrical form, and I therefore postpone further 
criticism. 

To sum up then I have found either by titles or the actual 
works the following complete and partial versions of the Psalms. 
(See list, page 37.) 

Having completed a very rapid review of various complete 
and partial versions of the Psalms that have come to my atten- 
tion, little remains to be added. There are, however, many inter- 

[33] 



esting questions which naturally arise after such a consideration, 
and of one of these I would like to speak in closing. Among the 
great varieties of metres noted in the various metrical versions 
what metre (or metres) is best adapted to the translation of the 
Psalms into English? The question is not easily answered as the 
very multiplicity of metres of the existing versions attest. To 
answer it intelligently we must recall something of the character 
of Hebrew versification. 

The first quality apparent in Hebrew poetry is its greater 
similarity to prose than the poetry of Western languages. The 
prose of certain of the prophets is frequently lost in a flight of 
poetry and as frequently drops back again into prose. I have 
mentioned the fact that the epic and the drama play but little 
part in Hebrew. Its poetry is almost entirely lyric and gnomic. 
Hebrew poetry is distinguished from its prose by its subject 
matter, diction, and especially by its rhythm. The onward flow 
of the emotion is marked off by lines but there is no definite 
metre — at least none has been discovered — corresponding to any 
of our well-defined metres. Rhyme too was as accidental with 
the Hebrews as with the classical Latin poets. The lines were, 
however, of approximately the same length, the general average 
length of line being about seven or eight syllables. The his- 
torical and didactic Psalms are more regular in this respect than 
those of an emotional nature. When a line exceeds seven to 
eight syllables it is generally divided by a caesura. The lines, in 
groups of twos, threes, fours, were combined into verses which 
commonly marked more distinct pauses in the thought. The 
predominant verse is the couplet of two lines, the second line 
generally expanding or emphasising the thought of the first. 
This quality is of course commonly known as parallelism and 
may be of various kinds: 

1. Synonymous parallelism. 

How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? 

And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? 

2. Antithetic parallelism, 

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, 
But the way of the wicked shall perish. 

3. Synthetic or constructive parallelism, 

Yet I have set my king 
Upon Zion my holy hill. 

3. Climactic parallelism or ascending rhythm, 

Give unto the Lord, O ye sons of the mighty; 
Give unto the Lord glory and strength. 

[34] 



We have also: 

1. Monostichs. Generally at the beginning or end of a 

poem, 

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. 

2. Tristichs, and tetrastichs, 

His mouth was smooth as butter. 
But his heart was war; 
His words were softer than oil, 
Yet were they drawn swords. 

In regard to strophe or stanza structure sometimes the 
Hebrew poets seem to have marked off a group of verses contain- 
ing similar thought by a refrain but again the divisions are quite 
irregular and even a strophe distinguished by thought character- 
istics obscure. 

Other mechanical devices they used, however, among which 
are the acrostic and alphabet schemes. The latter was used in 
two ways — either each verse was begun with a different letter, 
making a successive series, or each verse of a strophe commenced 
with one and the same letter and each verse of the next strophe 
began with the next letter. See Ps. 34, 37, 119, and 145. 

Such in brief are some of the mechanical characteristics of 
Hebrew poetry. How are they to be transmitted or represented 
in English.? Or what would be the best substitution for them? 
When I first took up the metrical versions of the Psalrns these 
questions occurred to me and I asked two rnen whose opinions I 
thought to be valuable, the following questions: 

1. Which in your opinion would represent more nearly the 
spirit and form of the Hebrew Psalms in English — a prose, or 
metrical version.'' 

2. What English metre do you consider best adapted for a 
metrical version.'' 

3. Which of the existing versions known to you do you 
prefer.'' 

To these questions Dr. William R. Harper, President of the 
University of Chicago, replied: 

"i. Theoretically, at least, I should think that a metrical rendering of the 
Psalms would come nearer to the true representation of their spirit and form than 
a prose one; but practically, I am sorry to say, I have not yet seen a metrical 
rendering that was at all satisfactory, and I am almost in despair of ever finding one _ 

"2. As to the metre best adapted for a poetical rendering, I have no special 
opinion. Of course it would be necessary to vary the metre in the English as it 
varies in the original. The same metre could not be used all through the Psalter. 
I should say that in general a stately solemn measure would be more appropriate 
than any light, tripping metre. 

[35] 



"3- The existing metrical versions are all so unsatisfactory that I do not 
care to express any preference among them. It would be merely saying which is 
the least objectionable, and I do not know that I am at all certain about this." 

Dr. Henry Van Dyke, of Princeton University, replied : 
"l. A prose version of the Psalms seems to me decidedly preferable to one 
in verse. One reason is because we do not yet know enough about Hebrew versifica- 
tion to be able even approximately to imitate it in English. 

"2. In the case of a metrical version, it would be in my judgment best to 
vary the metre in the different Psalms. For instance, the ist Psalm seems best 
adapted to four-stress iambic quatrains. The same may be said of the 119th. But 
the 72nd and the 104th demand a more fluent and flexible metre. 

"3. I do not know enough about the subject to venture an intelligent 
answer." 

Prof. Samuel Hart, of Berkeley Divinity School, Middle- 
town, Conn., did not answer the questions categorically. He 
supposes that the metrical versions of the Psalms of King 
James VI of Scotland and I of England — "The Psalmes of King 
David translated by King James," — appended to the Scottish 
Prayer Book (known as Laud's) of 1637 was referred to, and 
mentions a remarkable translation of the Psalms "frae Hebrew 
into Scottis" by Dr. Waddell, Edinburgh, printed as prose but 
is largely metrical and partly rhymed. In respect to the ques- 
tions he says: "I think that the spirit and form of the Hebrew 
Psalter are best represented in English by a prose translation, 
the best being that in the polychrome (so-called) Bible." "Met- 
rical translations must be largely for the purpose of congrega- 
tional singing, and this calls for the ordinary common and long 
metres, as a rule, but I know of no metrical version which is so 
good that I should venture to say that I preferred it." 

It is needless to say that I have not investigated the subject 
deeply enough to express an opinion of any weight. The process 
must consist in investigating the success with which past trans- 
lators have used various metres as well as in undertaking the 
Hebrew side of the problem. The probability of a misjudgment 
lurks in the former investigation, since good poets have used 
ill fitting metres with better success than poor poets have em- 
ployed fitting metres and vice versa. In the latter side of the 
investigation equal difficulty confronts us by reason of the 
poverty of our knowledge. In this dilemma an apology for the 
very fragmentary form of my paper is this, that had I waited 
until I had worked out all the innumerable details of my subject, 
I am afraid I could not have refrained from including all those 
details in my report in which I am sure that a far more humble 
apology would be required of me than is due even now. 



[36I 



Appendix to Versions of Psalms in English Verse 

This list of versions is not in strict chronological order. It 
is compiled from a card catalogue which Alfred Belden Rice 
left, and from notes and criticisms of versions, some of which 
were made after the reading of his essay. Then he entered upon 
the study of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English versions, as his 
notes and subsequent papers abundantly show; a field which in 
his essay he said he had not then entered. He did not aim to 
make an exhaustive list of extant versions of the Psalms in 
English verse. His purpose was to select the more important 
and complete versions, and those partial versions which illus- 
trated some peculiar literary expression or metrical form suffi- 
cient to base upon them a judgment of the character of any such 
versions in English. He kept adding to his list steadily until too 
ill to do more. — E. W. R. 



Northumberland Psalter in 13th Century. 

Psalms by Richard Rolle in 14th Century. 

R. Rolle of Hampole wrote a Commentary on The Psalter, and it was edited 
by Bramley in 1884. It is substantially a translation of the Exposito Psal- 
terie; the translation often agrees with the English Psalter in verse. It bears 
RoUe's name. A Psalter in verse was doubtfully ascribed to Rolle. It seems 
to belong to a very early date, but the archaic character is due in some 
degree to the use of Anglo-Saxon glossary. A version of the "Seven Peni- 
tential Psalms in Verse" was wrongly ascribed to him. 

Seven Penitential Psalms, 1414, by T. Brampton. 

Fifteen "Goostly Psalms" in Verse, by Miles Coverdale, 1539. 

Thomas Wyatt (Partial Version), 1549. 

Sir Philip Sydney and his sister, the Countess of Pembroke, 1583. 

Henry Lok. 

Appended to his work on Ecclesiastes and poems are "Sundry Psalmes of 
David translated into verse, as briefly and significantly as the scope of the 
text will suffer." The Psalms thus versified are 7, 27, 119 (22 parts), 121, 
130, and The Lord's Prayer. Possibly Lok deserves the credit of being unique 
in his peculiar method of versifying the Psalms . . . His scheme is to trans- 
late one verse of Scripture, whether long or short, into exactly one metrical 
line, so that the number of lines in a metrical Psalm of Lok invariably corre- 
spond to the number of verses in the original. [Mr. Rice wrote an extended 
special criticism upon Lok's poetical writings. — E. W. R.] 

Seven Penitential Psalms, Edmund Spencer, 1552-1599 (Lost). 

A. L. — Anne Lok, 1559. 

"A meditation of a penitent sinner, written in manner of a Paraphrase after 
the 51st Psalm of David." Inscribed "Liber Henrici Lock ex domo Anne 
uxoris suae, 1559." 

I37] 



Psalm 130, "A Hundred Sundrie Flowers," George Gascoigne, 

1574- 
Matthew Parker, 1504-1575. 

"The whole Psalter translated into English Metre, which contayneth a 
hundred and fifty Psalmes. Imprinted at London by John Daye. Cum 
gratia et privilegio Regae Maiestratis per Decennium." With translation 
of the "Veni Creator" and music for same. C. C. Coll. Library. 

Thomas Sternhold (d. 1549). 

"Certayne Psalmes chose out of the Psalter of David and drawn into English 
Metre by Thomas Sternhold, grome of ye Kynges Maiesties Roobes." 
Printed by Edward Whitchurch. 19 Psalms (1-5, 20, 25, 28, 29, 32, 34, 41, 
49, 73, 78, 103, 120, 123, 128). Undated but not earlier than 1547 since ded. 
to Edward VL (B. M.) 

"Al such Psalmes of David as Thomas Sternhold, late grome of the 
Kinges maiesties robes, did in his lyfetime drawe into English Metre." 
Printed by Edward Whitchurch, contains in addition to Psalms of previous 
edition 18 new ones (6-17, 19, 21, 43, 44, 63, 68); also 7 by John Hopkins who 
is appointed publisher (Cambridge University Library). 

Psalter printed by John Daye in 1561 contains 3 more Psalms by Stern- 
hold (18, 22, 23), hence complete number done by Sternhold was 40. These 
40 appear in editions of 1562, 1563. 

Queen Elizabeth, 1533-1603, 

Psalm XIV with following title: "The XIII Psalme of David, called, Dixit 
insipiens touched afore of my Lady Elizabeth." Reprinted in Angl. XIV. 

Barnaby Barnes, 1 569-1609. 

"A Divine Century Centurie of Spirituall Sonnets . . . London, printed by 
John Windet, 1595." 

"Spiritual Sonnets are echoes of the Creator, especially of passages 
from the Psalms, Revelation, and the Gospels. The Temple Bible lists him 
among metrical psalm writers in English, but upon what ground I am unable 
to say. 

Sir John Harrington, 1570. 

Manuscript in Douce Collection in Bodleian. Specimen's in Park's edition of 
"Nugae Antiquae." 1804. 

Abraham Fraunce, 1591. 

Francis and Christopher Davison and others. 

Divers Selected Psalms of David in verse, of a different composure from 
those used in the church. 

Harl. ms. B. M. 

William Hunnis, 1597. 

"Certayne Psalmes chosen out of the Psalter of David and drawen forth into 
English meter," Lond. 1549. 

"Seven Sobs of a Sorrowful Soule for Sinne: Comprehending those 
seven Psalmes of the Princelie Prophet David, commonlie called Peniten- 
tial; framed into a forme of familiar praiers, and reduced into meeter by 
William Hunnis . . . whereunto are also annexed his Handful of Honisuckles; 
the Poor Widowes Mite; a Dialogue between Christ and a sinner; divers 
godlie and pithie ditties, with a Christian Confession of and to the Trinitie." 
(Brit. M.) Lond. 1583. 

I38I 



Henry Ainsworth, 1612. 

"The Books of Psalmes: Englished both in Prose and Metre." Printed at 
Amsterdam. 

Henry Dod. 

"Metrical Versions of certain Psalms by H. D. (Cambridge University 
Library.) 1603. 

"Al the Psalmes of David with certene Songes and Canticles of Moses, 
Debora, and others, not formerly extant for Song, &c." 1620. 

Lord Bacon, 1625. 

Seven Psalms: i, 12, 90, 104, 126, 137, 139. Composed during illness, 1624. 

George Wither, 1632. 

"The Psalms translated into Lyric Verse, according to the scope of the 
original." 

George Sandys (or des), 15 57-1643. 

A Paraphrase upon the Psalms of David, by George Sandys, set to new tunes 
for private devotions and a thorough bass for Voice and Instrument by 
Henry Lawes, Gentlemen of His Majesties Chapel Royal. 

Anonymous. 

Psalm altered from A. V. 1638. Paraphrase of entire Ps. (B. L.) 1640. 

The Bay Psalter, 1640. 

New England, 1650. 

A Revised Version of Rous made by President Dunster of Harvard, Richard 
Lyon and 30 others. 

Lord Thomas Fairfax, 165 1. 

Versified Psalms, but were never printed. 

Bishop Henry King, 1651. 

"The Psalms of David from the New Translation of the Bible turned into 
Meeter." 

Richard Staynhurst. 

Psalms I, 2, 3, 4. 

Appended to his translation of Virgil's ^^ineid with following title: 
"Heere after ensue certeyn Psalmes of David, translated in too English 
according to thee observation of the Latin verses." Eng. Scholar's Library, 
No. 10, Ed. by Arber. 

John Milton, 1608. 

Written 1653, Psalms I, U, HI, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII. 
Written 1648, LXXX-LXXXVIII incl. 
CXIV (paraphrase) (Also done in Greek) CXXXVI. 
Hymn in B.V. Par. L.— Ps. 148 (Para.) 

Richard Baxter, 1615-1691. 

Issued after his death. (Not complete Version.) 

John White, 1654. 

John Patrick, 1698. 

Psalms of David in Metre. 

[39] 



Charles Wesley, 1 708-1 788. 
Partial Version. 

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748. 

The works of Isaac Watts ... By Dr. Jennings and Dr. Doddridge in 1753 
... To which are prefixed Memoirs of the Life of the author hy George 
Burder. London, 1810. 6v. Q. 
American S. S. Union. 

Psalms of David in metre. Translated and diligently compared with 
the original text and former translations . . . Allowed by the authority of 
the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, and appointed to be sung in 
congregations and families. Glasgow, William Collins, 1871. 

295+71 p. T. 150 Psalms, 67 paraphrases and 5 hymns. 

Contains also: Translations and paraphrases in verse of several passages 
of sacred Scripture. Hymns. 
American S. S. Union Library. 

"The Psalms of David, imitated in the Language of the New Testament; 
and applied to the Christian state and worship, by I. Watts, D.D., Phila- 
delphia: Printed and sold by R. Aitken, third door above the coffee-house, 
Market St., MDCCLXXXL" Printed from larger vol. Phila. Library. 

Anne Steele, 1778. 
Partial Version. 

Robert Burns, 1 759-1 796. 

Ps. L Ps. XC (first six verses). See his poetical works. 

Henry Kirke White, 1 785-1 806. 
Psalms 22 (incomplete). 

Isaac Watts (see preceding page). 

The Psalms of David, imitated in the language of the New Testament and 
applied to Christian state and worship. Lond. J. & F. Rivington, 1772. 
317 p. 16. 150 psalms. 
8 pages of tunes. 
Advertisement, 1728. 
American S. S. Union. 

Psalms of David in metre. Newly translated and diligently compared 
with the original text and former translations. Allowed by the authority 
of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland and appointed to be sung in 
congregations and families. Glasgow, John Bryce, 1757. 
324 p. T. 150 psalms. 
American S. S. Union Library. 

Psalms of David in metre. Allowed by the authority of the General 
Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland and appointed to be sung in congregations 
and families. With analysis or brief view of the contents of each psalm, taken 
from the exposition of Matthew Henry. Phila., R. Aitken, 1783. 
398 p. S. 150 Psalms. 
American S. S. Union Library. 

Psalms of David, according to the version approved by the Church of 
Scotland and appointed to be used in worship. Edin., J. Dickson & P. Hill, 
1792. 
360+122 p. T. 150+67 psalms. 

Contains also: Translations and paraphrases, in verse, of several pas- 
sages of Scripture, collected and prepared by a committee of the General 
Assembly of the Church in Scotland. 1792. 
American S. S. Union Library. 

[40] 



James Merrick, 1720-1769. 

The Psalms, translated or paraphrased in English Verse, 1766. Bishop 
Home quotes and commends it. He was the author of the poetical fable 
"The Chameleon." 

Lord Byron, 

Hebrew Melodies. 

James Montgomery, 1 771-1854. 
Partial Version. 

Rev. Basil Wood, M.A., 1821. 

"A New Metrical Version of the Psalms of David; with An Appendix of 
Select Psalms and Hymns, adapted to the Service of the United Church of 
England and Ireland; ... By Rev. Basil Woodd, M.A." London, Printed by 
E. Bridgewater. 

Edmund G. Marsh, 1832. 
John Brown, 1722-1787. 

The Psalms of David in Metre: Allowed by the authority of the Kirk of 
Scotland, and of Several Branches of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States ... By John Brown, Late Minister of the Gospel at Haddington. 
Phila., Tower and Hogan. 

John Keble, 1839. 

"The Psalter or Psalms of David in English verse, by a member of the 
University of Oxford." Oxford Psalter. 

Bishop Burgess, of Maine, 1840. 

Archdeacon Churton, 1854. 
Cleveland Psalms. 

Marquis of Lome, 1877. 

W. D. Seymour, 1882. 

Thomas MacKellar, Ph.D., 1883, 1893. 

"Hymns and Metrical Psalms by Thomas MacKellar, Ph.D." Phila., 

Poter and Coates. 

Earlier edition, 1883. 

Ps. 4, 5 (v. 1-3, 7, 8, II, 12), 8, 10, 19, 46, 62, 86, 92, Q3, 97, 100, 121, 145. 

Ps. in italics appear not in 1883 ed. but in 1893 ed. 

Abraham Coles, M.D., LL.D., 1888. 

"A New Rendering of the Hebrew Psalmes into English Verse with Notes, 
Critical, Historical and Biographical, Including an Historical Sketch of the 
French, English and Scotch Metrical Versions." N. Y., D. Appleton & Co. 



In addition to compiling the foregoing catalogue of Versions 
and to examining various Anglo-Saxon and Old Middle English 
Versions not definitely noted above, Alfred left among his papers 
various notes and criticisms upon some other Versions not listed 
and upon curious examples of versification of the Psalms. Thus 
he speaks of Abraham Fraunce's hexameters, 1581; Pike's lyrics 
without rhyme, 1751; Psalterium Americanus by Cotton Mather, 

[41 1 



17185 printed like prose, but the Authorized Version thrown into 
unrhymed C. M. for singing; Wheatland and Sylvester's heroics, 
1754; Dennis's Blank Verse, 1808. 

He also had several notes on the Pre-reformation era; for 
example Bishop Aldhelm of Sherborne, A.D. 709 (according to 
Bede) composed one and Archdeacon Churton ascribes to him 
an Anglo-Saxon version, edited by Thorpe, but Thorpe assigns 
it to a later date; Latin Psalms with interlinear Anglo-Saxon 
gloss and a translation into Middle English; a translation of 
St. Gerome's Gallican Psalms into English mentioned by Hol- 
land, the Psalmist of Britain at the date of Henry H or Rich- 
ard I. 

He also has notes on the German influence. The English 
Psalm singing sprang from intercourse of Gospellers with Luther 
and Melancthon and familiarity with other writings. The 
influence likewise of the Ballad Metres of Edward VI era is 
quite fully noticed and criticized and again of the Genevian 
influence of the Marian Exiles. For Psalm singing ceased under 
Mary, but was continued by the exiles. 

Versions of the Puritan era were quite literal after the 
manner of Rous. 

He also refers quite fully to the reaction which is signified 
by the partial versions of S. Woodford, 1667; of Miles Smythe, 
1668; of Richard Baxter, 1692, and of Luke Milbourne, 1698; of 
Sir Richard Blackmore, 1721. — E. W. R. 



(42 



In the Bret Harte Country 

On the fifth of May, 1902, Francis Bret Harte, schoolmaster, 
journaHst, poet and noveHst, died in England, separated by six 
thousand miles from the country whose life and scenes he had 
depicted in his works. Just prior to his death, had he been per- 
mitted, as was the writer just after it (in 1903), to visit that 
country, he would have found that many changes had taken 
place in his absence. California today is not the California of 
Bret Harte. Placer or surface mining, which figures so exten- 
sively in his stories, is now almost unknown. Many California 
towns, which fifty years ago were populous and active, are today 
wholly deserted or inhabited by a half-dozen stranded families. 
Other towns have sprung up on land that was desert in "forty- 
niner" days and the stage-coach is rapidly being supplanted by 
the locomotive. Even the forces of nature have aided in the 
metamorphosis and numerous earthquakes and floods have 
ruined many old Spanish missions and other landmarks familiar 
to the reader of Bret Harte. 

These changes have not been so complete, however, as to 
leave no trace of the past in the California of today. The tourist 
will still find extant the general background of Bret Harte's 
works. He will be too painfully conscious of the "red dust" of 
the California roads. He will hear much of the same vigorous 
English that is in "Gabriel Conroy" or Bret Harte's poems, and 
he will be surprised to find that many of the old claims are still 
being worked and that not a few of the original "forty-niners" 
are working them. 

THE WONDERFUL SPRING 

A complete topography of Bret Harte's works would cover 
nearly all of California and the neighboring territory, but the 
tourist will find certain districts more interesting in their associ- 
ations than others and, unless he has unlimited time at his dis- 
posal, he will do well to select two or three of these regions that 
especially repay a visit. Probably the country around Table 
Mountain is the most interesting as a starting point. It was here 
that Bret Harte came, tired and discouraged, over a road of red 
dust to seek a position as a school teacher. Old Jim Gillis (the 
"Truthful James" of Bret Harte) still tells how he met "Bret" 
by the roadside and loaned him twenty dollars to help him travel 
to San Francisco. To visit this region the tourist takes a train 
from Sacramento to Stockton, where there is a curious spring 

[43] 



that produces hot water impregnated with gas. The water is 
75° to 80" F. as it rushes to the surface, but after it has stood a 
few minutes in a tank the latent heat of the gas seems to make 
the temperature several degrees warmer. The gas from the 
spring is collected and used for light, heat, and power, while the 
water is used for drinking and bathing purposes. Situated as it 
is in the San Joaquin Valley, it is especially interesting to any 
one who has read Bret Harte's poem "The Wonderful Spring of 
the San Joaquin." At Stockton the tourist takes another train 
to Sonora. From here a stage runs to Tuttletown which is the 
best place for headquarters. Sonora is still a typical mining 
town. It stretches along one crooked street for nearly a mile and 
so frequent are the taverns that one who walks through the town 
is continually enveloped in an odor of stale liquor. There are 
several old inhabitants of Sonora who remember Bret Harte well, 
and there is a tradition, probably erroneous, that he once taught 
school there. 

THE STAGE 

The stage-coach between Sonora and Tuttletown leaves the 
former place early in the morning and runs through several settle- 
ments of interest, including the famous Shaw's Flat. 

The personnel of the passengers on the stage the morning I 
started was exceedingly interesting. On the front seat with the 
driver and myself was a district violin teacher known as the 
"fiddle professor," whose chief baggage was a bottle of whiskey 
and some black cigars. The former he passed around among the 
passengers at regular intervals of about three miles each, while 
he kept the latter for personal use only. On the second seat was 
a stone deaf man who talked continually, punctuating each sen- 
tence with a boisterous laugh irrespective of context. Besides 
these passengers there were two "ladies," the fingers of one of 
whom were yellow with cigarette stains. When this one expressed 
a desire to smoke, her companion checked her by telling her it 
was "not polite for ladies to smoke in public." The stage driver 
was the finishing touch to the load. Ruffled at a delay in starting, 
he had little to say on the journey but drove his four horses at a 
furious gait, cracking his long whip with a dextrous motion of his 
forearm. When the professor offered him the bottle, he accepted 
but never with a word of thanks or a turn of his head toward the 
donor. Throughout the drive "Table Mountain," a low plateau 
some twenty-five miles long, was almost continually in sight. 

TRUTHFUL JAMES AND JIM GILLIS 

It was on Table Mountain that "Truthful James," the 
mouthpiece of the "Heathen Chinee," resided, as everyone 

[44] 



remembers from the lines in which he introduces himself to the 
reader: 

I reside at Table Mountain and my name is Truthful James; 
I am not up to small deceit or any sinful games; 
And I'll tell in simple language what I know about the row 
That broke up our Society upon the Stanislow. 

"Truthful James" is also known as the man who in the 
"Jumping Frog of Calaveras" won in a frog race by previously- 
feeding shot to his opponent's frog. The home of "Truthful 
James" still stands and is inhabited by Jim and his brother 
Steve. It is situated on Jackass Hill, a little eminence about a 
mile from Tuttletown, and is approached by a winding trail 
through a thickly wooded country. Jim Gillis is still a noted man 
in his community. He is not actively engaged in mining himself 
but leases out his claims on a ten per cent basis and it is said 
that the rentals render him quite an income to this day. Steve 
Gillis, his brother, whom I found working at a mine on Jackass 
Hill, told me that a few weeks before my arrival one nugget worth 
over three thousand dollars had been taken from the hill. The 
name of Jackass Hill originated in the days when placer mining 
was done and asses were used to carry the dirt down the hill to be 
washed at the foot. Now, only quartz or pocket mining is carried 
on, but exactly the same territory is being worked as before. 

NOT THE MARK TWAIN CABIN 

Near by the house of Jim Gillis is the famous "Bret Harte 
and Mark Twain cabin" in which it is said that those two writers 
lived together for some time. The truth is that neither of the 
men occupied the building for a single night and the man who 
claims to have taken the picture which was published all over 
the United States, confessed to the writer that he selected that 
building because it looked particularly old and because, as he 
put it, "you might as well say that was it as any other." Steve 
Gillis, who ushered me over Jackass Hill and through the house of 
"Truthful James," pointed out near an old oak tree a spot where, 
he said, the Mark Twain cabin actually did stand, but no trace 
is left of it today. In passing, it may be remarked that Steve 
Gillis is, in his way, quite as noted as his brother. He was the 
celebrated second in the Mark Twain duel and roomed with 
"Mark" for several years in San Francisco. He thinks Mark 
Twain the funniest and best man that ever lived and never tires 
of talking of him. 

Until recently there was a second claimant to the title of 
"Truthful James," a man by the name of Jim Townsend, who 
died a few years ago in the East. He was said to have been an 
extremely penurious man, and there is a tradition in Tuttletown 

[45] 



to the effect that in building his house he was so sparing of his 
lumber that the house when completed was so small that he had 
to grease himself to get inside and a corkscrew was necessary to 
draw him out! 

ROCKER MINING 

Other interesting characters in Tuttletown are Mr. and Mrs. 
Swerer who formerly kept the "Pioneer Store" where Mark 
Twain and possibly Bret Harte traded. Mrs. Swerer is the proud 
mother of twelve living children, most of whom are engaged in 
some kind of mining in California. Having been so successful 
in raising children, she has now turned her attention to fowl of 
various kinds, and has become noted as the owner of an owl that 
hatched a brood of chickens and raised a brace of ducks. Per- 
haps I looked incredulous when Mrs. Swerer told me of the 
various exotic offspring that this owl had fondled. At any rate, 
she insisted upon giving a little exhibition of the bird for my 
benefit, by feeding bits of meat to her, which she in turn fed to 
two ducks that were already grown to be larger than herself. 
Mrs. Swerer is also the possessor of a good collection of minerals 
and old relics of early mining days. Especially interesting to the 
antiquarian is her old hand "rocker," the machine that was used 
so extensively in placer mining. The auriferous earth was placed 
in this " rocker" which resembled a hand ash sifter and water was 
poured over it while the miner kept the "rocker" in motion. The 
siftings from the " rocker " fell upon an " apron " which was either 
an oblique sheet of corrugated iron or a piece of cloth. The free 
gold was caught in the corrugations or on the cloth and the waste 
dirt or "tailings" were allowed to escape. One who travels 
through the old mining regions of California will see miles of ter- 
ritory covered with thousands of hills of "tailings" resembling 
large ant hills. In the vicinity of Columbia, a little town not far 
from Sonora, long continued placer mining has produced a most 
curious effect upon the scenery. When the miners came to the 
region, great limestone rocks, twenty to thirty feet deep, were 
embedded in the gold bearing soil. Year after year, the miners 
washed away this soil until the general level of the ground was 
reduced thirty feet while the grest limestone rocks which were 
unearthed remained. These rocks are remarkably white and, 
when seen at night under a full moon, look like a cemetery filled 
with gigantic tombstones. 

SAN FRANCISCO IN I903 

San Francisco and its vicinity constitute a second region 
which the literary tourist should visit. The Overland 
Monthly, with which Bret Harte's early career was connected 
and in which the "Luck of Roaring Camp" originally appeared, 

I46I 



is still published in San Francisco, though not in the original 
building. In the Golden Gate Park is a statue of Thomas Starr 
King, the California pioneer whose friendship meant so much to 
Bret Harte and at whose death he wrote the eulogy "On a Pen 
of Thomas Starr King." 

Lone Mountain, San Francisco, is the locale of Bret Harte's 
poem of that name and the old ClifF House, now replaced by a 
new one, is the scene of the "Ballad of J. Cook." Commercial, 
Montgomery and Pacific streets, which are mentioned in "Gabriel 
Conroy," are still active business streets in San Francisco, though 
rather narrow and dingy. Following the steps of Ramirez, the 
villain of "Gabriel Conroy," who bought a dagger in a junk shop 
on Pacific street, I entered an old shop in the same location and 
found a rusty Spanish weapon quite old enough to have been seen 
by Ramirez. The price of the piece was " six bits " or seventy-five 
cents, two bits being equivalent to the American quarter. 

MISSION DOLORES 

One of the finest of Bret Harte's poems not in dialect — "The 
Angelus," is centered about the Mission Dolores, a picturesque 
old Spanish mission on the outskirts of San Francisco. A part of 
the poem is worth quoting: 

Bells of the Past, whose long-forgotten music 

Still fills the wide expanse, 
Tingeing the sober twilight of the Present 

With colour of romance! 

I hear you call and see the sun descending 

On rock and wave and sand, 
As down the coast the Mission voices blending, 

Girdle the heathen land. 

Within the circle of your incantation 

No blight nor mildew falls; 
Nor fierce unrest, nor lust, nor low ambition 

Passes those airy walls. 

SANTA CLARA 

Going south from San Francisco the tourist will reach, after 
a short ride, San Jose and the beautiful Santa Clara Valley. The 
latter is the scene of the short story "Through the Santa Clara 
Wheat." In my travels through California, I found no region 
where the inhabitants knew less about their own communities 
than in the Santa Clara Valley. In San Jose I endeavored to 
find the oldest hotel in town in order that I might see which one 
figured in the short story I have mentioned. But after asking 
many of the old inhabitants, all of whom were utterly ignorant 
upon the subject, I was forced to give up the investigation. In 

[47] 



Palo Alto, a town in the northern part of the valley, I found a 
man who could not tell me which way the house numbers ran on 
his own street. Wheat, which was the great product of the Santa 
Clara Valley in Bret Harte's day, has been replaced by prunes, 
the orchards here being second in fame only to Italian orchards. 
Lick Observatory, which has been located on Mount Hamilton 
since Bret Harte's time, overlooks this fertile valley and the 
tourist who wishes to see the extent of the orchards will do well 
to take the twenty-eight-mile stage ride* from San Jose to the 
summit. Within a day's journey of San Jose are the towns of 
Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey, all of which are interest- 
ing and historic. 

SAN GABRIEL 

Continuing south from San Jose the tourist passes along the 
Pacific Coast, through Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. Nine 
miles from the latter city is the little town of San Gabriel with 
its old Spanish mission. Besides being one of the oldest missions 
in California in perfect preservation, the San Gabriel Mission 
has a special interest as the scene of Bret Harte's poem "Don 
Diego of the South." The old padre who showed us through the 
mission pointed out in the rear of the building a confessional 
which, rotten with age, we may imagine was the one used by 
Donna Inez and Don Diego. 

At Los Angeles the trip we have outlined will conveniently 
terminate. Other settlements mentioned by Bret Harte, such as 
Red Dog, Poker Flat, Sandy Bar and Angel's Camp, might have 
been included in the itinerary, but most of these places are diffi- 
cult of access and at least one is of uncertain identification. Not 
many years hence the tourist will probably be able to visit all 
of the Bret Harte country by rail. Even now a line is in course 
of construction between Jimtown, Tuttletown and Angel's Camp. 
The antiquarian necessarily looks with regret upon the introduc- 
tion of the railway as a potent agency in eradicating the last 
remnants of the strenuous life of the "forty-niners," but the 
ordinary tourist, who has once traveled through the remote dis- 
tricts of California by the tedious methods used there today, will 
welcome the conveniences of the railway. 

Alfred Belden Rice, 'oo C, '03 A.M. 



♦Now by electric trolley. 

[48I 



"Oversea Notes" in the Leisure Hour, London 

The Advertising Nuisance 

The ingenuity of the American advertiser is apparently 
limitless. His work is found in every part of the United States 
and penetrates every side of life. In the street cars he erects 
cardboard figures which are caused to dance or gesticulate by 
the motion of the cars; at public gatherings out-of-doors he 
spreads advertisements in the sky by means of mechanical kites; 
at night he throws pictures upon the clouds by his powerful 
search-light or makes a variety of effects by electric signs, and, 
in short, attracts your attention in a hundred different ways as 
you go about your business or recreation. Many forms of adver- 
tising which the advertiser thus thrusts before the public are 
perfectly legitimate and respect the rights of higher interests. 
Others, however, bidding for attention at any cost, have become 
real nuisances, respecting neither man nor nature. One of the 
greatest nuisances of this kind is the practice of lining the rail- 
ways with advertising-fences, which seriously disfigure the 
scenery. On the railway line between Philadelphia and Atlantic 
City, for example, everything is advertised in this way, from 
liver pills to real estate. It is true that the scenery along this 
particular road is not especially attractive, but no such con- 
sideration, we may be sure, influenced the advertisers, for we 
find the same condition along the railway between New York 
and Philadelphia and on others. 

Another practice which equally mars the scenery is that of 
painting barns and even houses with huge advertisements. It 
is true that the individual farmers are largely responsible for 
this disfigurement, since the advertising firms no doubt agree 
to paint the properties gratis on the condition that they be 
allowed to cover them with advertising matter. In New England 
this practice is apparently not so common as in the middle States. 
The New England farmers are either of aesthetic taste or pros- 
perous enough to paint their buildings themselves, but the cus- 
tom in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and neighbouring States is 
quite general, and the scenery along the railways traversing these 
districts consequently disfigured. 

Still another nuisance of the advertiser is his propensity to 
decorate — or rather desecrate — rocks, trees and fences with his 

l49l 



advertisements. This habit is unfortunately not confined to 
the cities. Along the most sequestered country road one is quite 
apt to find a whitewashed rock or disfiguring sign upon a tree, 
advertising Somebody's Clothing Store, or So and So's Dog Soap. 
In all this we find the same commercial spirit as that which seeks 
to destroy Niagara Falls for its motive power, or to wreck the 
palisades of the Hudson to obtain building-stone; and just as a 
strong opposition has arisen against these larger desecrations 
of nature, it is hoped that the minor assaults of the advertiser 
will also be checked. — A. B. R. 

A Scientific Investigation of English Verse 

Scholars have differed for some time on the subject of accent 
and quantity in English verse and prose. It has been generally 
conceded that accent is by far the most important element in the 
rhythm of English verse, but some have gone so far as to claim 
that it is the only element, altogether denying that quantity 
plays a role at all. The rhythm of classical verse and prose, it is 
well known, depended chiefly on quantity, and we know that 
a Roman orator, guilty of a single false quantity, would be 
immediately hissed off the forum by his audience. Such keen- 
ness of ear for long and short syllables is, of course, unknown to 
English audiences, and many question the propriety of writing 
English poetry in classical measures on this account. It is 
pointed out that the march time of the classical dactylic metre, 
for example, is reduced by the English system to a waltz move- 
ment consisting of feet of three equally long syllables, with an 
accent on the first. The ejffect, therefore, of a poem like Long- 
fellow's Evangeline is entirely different from the original efl^ect 
of a dactylic passage of Virgil. It seems, however, that quantity 
does form one element, if indeed a minor one, of English rhythm. 
Professor Scripture of Yale University instituted a scientific 
investigation of the character of English verse by means of the 
phonograph. He asked representative men from various parts 
of the country to recite into the receiver of his instrument some 
well-known lines of English verse, and in this way records were 
produced which could be accurately measured for accent and 
quantity. Professor Scripture announced that his investigations 
have thus far proved that quantity is a factor in English verse. 
The value of Professor Scripture's work must necessarily be more 
scientific than practical. His investigation may make academic 
disputes on the question of fact as to the presence or absence of 
quantity in English verse and prose impossible, but it cannot 
authoritatively sanction or condenm the use of classical measures 
in English poetry, for that is, after all, a matter of individual 
taste.— A. B. R. 

ISO] 



Incidents in Life at High Altitudes 

It is quite generally recognized by all who have even a slight 
acquaintance with science that certain abnormal changes are 
occasioned in the barometer and other meteorological instru- 
ments by great altitudes but few of us who have not been taught 
by actual experience know of the practical difficulties and peculi- 
arities of life at great heights. The Rocky Mountain district 
of the United States affords an excellent field from which to 
observe these peculiarities, for in the states of Colorado, Utah, 
Wyoming, Nevada, etc., thousands of people live the year round 
at altitudes of from 3000 to 10,000 feet. Denver, Colorado, a 
city of 135,000 inhabitants, lies on a plateau just one mile above 
the sea, while its neighbouring city, Colorado Springs, is about 
1000 feet higher. Many, if not a majority of the farmers, how- 
ever, live on the surrounding mountains, which, unlike the Alps, 
will sustain farm life at 8000 and even 10,000 feet. But the life 
must be modified to meet the meteorological conditions. First 
of all the housewife who moves to a mountain ranch must 
abandon her trusted cookery-book, or at least reconstruct all 
of its recipes. Otherwise her puddings and pies will be con- 
tinually boiling over the stove, and her vegetables will never be 
thoroughly cooked. In making cake, for example, she must use 
less butter, eggs, milk, etc., and more flour than the ordinary 
recipe requires. Ignorance of these peculiarities has caused 
many a young housewife to spoil cake after cake, until a sym- 
pathetic neighbour or her own observations have pointed out 
the reason for the failures. Then, again, there are difficulties in 
poultry raising, due to the dryness of the atmosphere in the 
Rocky Mountains. A few days before a brood of chickens are 
hatched out, it is necessary to wet the eggs upon which the hen 
is sitting; otherwise they would become so dry that only a small 
number of chickens would succeed in pecking through the shells. 
Effects of these altitudes on human beings are also noticeable. 
The heart beats more rapidly, the breathing becomes deeper, 
and a general exhilaration is felt. Until one becomes accustomed 
to the conditions, exercise quickly takes away the breath, and 
singing or playing upon a wind instrument soon becomes fatigu- 
ing. As the altitude is increased all of these effects are intensified. 
At Leadville, Colorado, which is about 10,000 feet high, it is 
almost impossible to cook beans at all, while on the summit of 
Pike's Peak, which is more than 14,000 feet, the barometer 
registers 17 inches, and water boils at 184° Fahr., making it 
necessary to boil potatoes for four hours to render them soft 
enough to eat. Even the lower animals are affected by such 
altitudes, and horses and mules often have nose-bleeds along 
with their masters. Of course atmospheric conditions change 

[SI] 



from time to time upon the mountains as they do at lower levels, 
and certain months and days are more severe than others. 
During the winter months few travellers are bold enough to go 
to the top of Pike's Peak, and those who have been caught at 
the summit during a severe storm even in summer have found 
the atmospheric changes most exhausting. The effects too are 
different upon different constitutions. It has been found unsafe 
for any one with heart trouble to ride up the mountain at any 
time, as fainting or even death is liable to result. The animal 
which is most used in the Rockies for mountain climbing is the 
"burro," a Spanish name for a little donkey. He is a very small 
animal, but exceedingly strong and sure-footed, and is able to 
travel to the summits of the highest of the Rocky Mountains 
without difficulty. At lower altitudes not exceeding 10,000 feet, 
cattle, horses, sheep and goats thrive well, and only to mention 
one instance, your correspondent found a fine old ranchman who 
was conducting a large cattle-ranch in the wildest part of the 
Rockies, 7000 feet above the sea. — A. B. R. 

Business Methods in American Universities 

The university or college has generally been regarded 
hitherto as an institution altogether different from a mercantile 
establishment. Existing as it does in a world by itself, the uni- 
versity is conceded the right to pursue her own peculiar methods 
and to hold herself quite aloof from the commercial world. But 
whether the commercialism of American life has proved infec- 
tious among the colleges, or the colleges by a natural expansion 
of their former methods have entered the commercial field, the 
fact remains that competitive business methods are rapidly 
becoming strong elements of college government in the United 
States. The methods by which many colleges and universities 
seek to gain new students have recently become especially 
noticeable. Probably the commonest method employed is to 
mail numerous catalogues and circulars to all young men or 
women who, it is thought, might be induced to become students 
at the institution scattering the advertising matter. The pro- 
fessional schools, such as schools of medicine, dentistry, law, 
theology, etc., obtain from the neighbouring colleges and high- 
schools lists of students about to graduate. Many of these 
students have already decided to pursue some technical courses, 
and when an attractive circular is put into their hands giving 
all the details of expense, social life, etc., at a certain institution, 
these students are frequently induced to go to the school thus 
advertised. When scholarships paying all or part of the expenses 
can be offered in the circulars, acceptances are practically assured. 
Another method by which the universities endeavor to compete 

[52] 



with their rivals in gaining students is to send a representative 
on two or three tours in much the same way that a commercial 
establishment sends out a commercial traveller or "drummer" 
to work up business "on the road." The representative of the 
college gives several lectures on his institution at the towns or 
cities where he stops, and furnishes all information regarding 
expense and other particulars that may be asked of him. — 
A. B. R. 

Summer Schools in the United States 

In a former note which I contributed to The Leisure Hour, 
the function of the "correspondence school" in the United 
States was briefly outlined. Another educational institution 
that is somewhat similar to the "correspondence school," and 
is of like recent origin, is the so-called Chautauqua or summer 
vacation school. All summer schools may be divided into two 
general classes, those conducted at and under the management 
of colleges and universities belonging to the first class, while 
those located in the mountains or at a summer resort elsewhere 
belong to the second class, and are alone called Chautauquas 
by careful users of the term. The name Chautauqua has been 
applied to these schools from the fact that the first institution 
of the kind was established on Lake Chautauqua, N. Y. Al- 
though hundreds of Chautauquas have been established all over 
the United States in the years that have elapsed since their 
organization, the original Chautauqua still remains the leading 
one. During last summer this school offered some fifteen courses 
in its curriculum, representing such subjects as English Litera- 
ture, German, French, Greek, Latin, Mathematics, Psychology, 
Music, Domestic Science, etc. The great advantage that the 
Chautauqua has over the university summer school is the oppor- 
tunity it affords the student to combine study with out-of-door 
recreation. For example, the New York Chautauqua is situated 
on a beautiful site on Chautauqua Lake, where sanitary and 
climatic conditions are thoroughly healthful. The Rocky 
Mountain Chautauqua, as its name suggests, is situated in a 
little town in the midst of the Rocky Mountains and over a mile 
above the sea-level. The Garden of the Gods Chautauqua, 
organized last summer, is located near Colorado Springs, Colo., 
one of the most popular and delightful summer resorts of the 
west. The tuition for courses of instruction in the Chautauquas 
varies in amount with the studies selected and with the individual 
schools, but the charge is never high, although scholars of national 
and international reputations are secured to conduct many of the 
courses. Hotels, boarding cottages, and tents are often operated 
in connection with the schools, so that rooms and board may be 
obtained at rates from ^5.00 (£1) a week up. Primarily, the 

lS3] 



Chautauqua is not a money-making institution, and many of 
them now in operation are not paying expenses. Others, how- 
ever, are even financially successful, and all, we may say, pro- 
duce important results in the moral and intellectual develop- 
ment of our people. — A. B. R. 

How Tramps Travel 

It is well known that American railways involuntarily 
carry gratis thousands of tramps every year. Probably fewer 
tramps steal rides now than twenty years ago, when it was a 
common sight to see a freight train (goods train) loaded with 
them, but the practice still continues to a greater or less extent, 
notwithstanding the efforts of the railway companies to the 
contrary. These efforts have, however, made the tramp more 
wary, and the means he employs to obtain his ends are frequently 
ingenious and amusing. Probably the easiest way for the tramp 
to steal a ride is to board a "freight" at a moment when the 
trainmen are off their guard, and then to take the chance of being 
discovered after the train is in motion. But this is entirely too 
democratic a mode of travel for the self-respecting tramp. He 
prefers a passenger train for his conveyance, and will go to his 
wits' end to accomplish his design. Some tramps ride on the 
trucks beneath the cars, but this is uncomfortable and dangerous. 
After an accident which occurred to a train which your corre- 
spondent took between Colorado and California, it was found 
that a tramp had been secreted in the baggage car, which was 
telescoped in the collision. He escaped with a broken leg. At 
another time a tramp boarded a train in California just before 
it entered a tunnel. When the conductor came through for the 
tickets the train was already in the tunnel, and the tramp, upon 
being asked for his ticket, replied that he had been told that 
anybody was allowed to ride through the tunnel without charge. 
When the conductor informed him this was not the case, he 
looked very much surprised, but said that they would surely 
not put him off the train in the middle of the tunnel. "Well," 
said the conductor, "if I had caught you a little sooner that is 
exactly what I would have done." However, the tramp was 
allowed to complete his ride, and as the tunnel was a long one, 
he was helped considerably on his way. Your correspondent, 
who happened to witness the incident, asked one of the train- 
men how often the trick was played. He replied, "About once 
in two weeks." The railway on which this occurred contains a 
number of long tunnels, and is therefore especially adapted for 
the method used there by the tramp. In Shasta county, Cali- 
fornia, where long, wooden tunnels called snow-sheds are built 
to prevent the winter snows from stopping transportation, the 

[S4l 



practice of riding through the tunnels is much more common, 
and the railway officials are afraid to put the tramps off the 
trains, for in revenge they would set fire to the sheds. Another 
method which the tramp has been known to employ in riding on 
passenger trains is to secrete himself between the backs of two 
seats turned in opposite directions. In certain types of American 
cars this space is sufficiently large for a small tramp if he is 
skilful in condensing himself. But in any case the chance of 
detection is great. One tramp who was riding thus was caught 
by the conductor, and, after the train was stopped, was thrust 
off. But as the train moved again a few observant passengers 
noticed the fellow swing on to the rear platform of the last car 
and resume his journey undaunted. — A. B. R. 

Sight-seeing by Trolley-cars 

Electric tramcars — or trolley-cars, as they are called in the 
United States — have had a remarkable history. A few years 
ago they were a novelty to be found in but few cities. Today 
every city and town of considerable size has its trolley line, and 
thousands of sparsely-settled communities as well are thus 
connected with each other and with large cities. At first the 
trolley-car was used chiefly for business purposes, but in recent 
years it has become an important source of recreation for people 
in poor and moderate circumstances. The electric railway 
companies throughout the country have developed this function 
of the trolley-car by establishing on the outskirts of large cities 
numerous parks with popular attractions of various kinds. These 
parks are connected with the cities by electric lines, and passen- 
gers are conveyed to and fro at nominal prices. In most cases 
no charge of admission is made at the park, the railway company 
calculating to gain its profits from the fares collected on the cars 
and from the receipts of the refreshment-stands and other 
"extras" at the park. Another recent development of the trolley 
system is its use by tourists. In at least six cities of the United 
States observation-cars are operated over routes selected espec- 
ially for the tourist. The company which provides this service 
makes special arrangements with the existing railway companies 
in the various cities so that it can run cars over many more 
interesting streets than any ordinary line is apt to cover. Each 
observation-car is provided with a guide who, megaphone in 
hand, stands at the forward end and explains the points of 
interest on the route. The mileage covered in these trips and 
the price of the tickets vary in different cities. In Denver, 
Colorado, some twenty-five miles are traversed, and the charge 
is twenty-five cents. In Los Angeles, California; Charleston, 
S. C; Washington, D. C; Boston, Mass.; and Salt Lake City, 

tssl 



Utah, it is fifty cents. In winter closed cars are used, which are 
heated by electricity. The time required for each trip is about 
two hours. — A. B. R. 

The Chicago Drainage Canal 

In 1893 the City of Chicago was engaged in two projects 
of enormous magnitude. One of these was the World's Colum- 
bian Exposition, in celebration of the four-hundredth anni- 
versity of the discovery of America. The other was the Chicago 
drainage canal, which the city began to dig the previous year, 
1892. The great interest aroused by the Exposition eclipsed for 
a time the interest taken in the canal, but when the "Fair" 
became a matter of history and its buildings levelled to the 
ground, the drainage canal stands out as an achievement no less 
remarkable than the Columbian Exposition. Ever since Chicago 
became a city of size, its drainage problem has been a difficult 
one. The Chicago River, a small, sluggish stream which empties 
into Lake Michigan, was early utilized to carry off the sewerage, 
but as the city grew in population, the pollution of the water 
became offensive. Before the completion of the drainage canal, 
it was so bad that boats pushing through the putrid river con- 
tinually stirred up foul odors, and epidemics were frequent. 
Chicago's drinking-water was also affected. The mouths of 
the intaking pipes, drawing water from Lake Michigan, were 
found to be too near the outlet of the river, and intake tunnels 
three and four miles long had to be constructed to prevent con- 
tamination. The Chicago drainage canal, which was completed 
in 1900 at a cost of ^33,000,000 (£6,600,000), has relieved the 
congested condition of the Chicago River by making it flow 
backward, thus freeing the water-supply from danger of con- 
tamination. Instead of receiving the waters of the Chicago 
River, Lake Michigan is now made the source of the river, 
supplying every minute thousands of cubic feet of water, which 
are carried through the Chicago River into the canal and thence 
to the Des Plaines, Illinois and Mississippi rivers. It will be 
seen, therefore, that the canal connects the Chicago and Des 
Plaines rivers, running a distance of 28}^ miles. Though not 
the longest, it is said to be the largest purely artificial canal in 
the world. About two-thirds of its length it is cut through solid 
limestone, the remaining distance being through gravel. A 
minimum width of 160 feet is maintained through the rock-cut 
portion, while the rest of the canal is much wider. The depth of 
the canal ranges from 22 to 30 feet. At Lockport, where the 
canal empties into the Des Plaines River, a large dam has been 
constructed, whose gates, operated by hydraulic pressure, 
remove water simultaneously from the surface and bottom of 

[56] 



the canal. In this way all accumulation of putrid matter which 
might otherwise form at the gates is avoided. The speed of the 
current in the canal, and consequently in the Chicago River, is 
also regulated by these gates. A telephone line connects Chicago 
with the dam at Lockport, so that the volume of water flowing 
out of the canal may be reduced or increased immediately upon 

order of the city. , i • r r 

The gates of the dam allow^ed about 250,000 cubic teet ot 
water to flow from the canal, but provision is made for a maxi- 
mum of 600,000 feet per minute. The additional volume ot 
water which was poured into the Des Plaines River by the drain- 
age canal necessitated much reinforcement along the banks of 
that stream, and while the work was being carried out, the river 
had to be diverted from its course for thirteen miles. Before 
its completion two serious objections were raised to the drainage 
canal. It was said, on one hand, that withdrawing so much water 
from Lake Michigan as the canal projectors contemplated would 
lower the level of that body of water so much that the harbors 
of all the towns on its shores would be ruined. On the other 
hand, St. Louis, a city on the Mississippi, about 375 miles below 
Chicago, objected that the sewerage from the drainage canal 
would make her water-supply utterly useless. Neither of these 
objections seems to have been sustained by the actual results. 
The level of Lake Michigan is, for all practical purposes, the 
same as before, while the water of St. Louis appears not to have 
suffered from Chicago's sewerage, since the rivers have ample 
opportunity to clear themselves in the distance between the 
cities.— A. B. R. 

The Passing of the American Cow-boy 

The typical American cow-boy is rapidly passing away. 
Many of the western plains of the United States which years 
ago, were dotted with the picturesque figures of the cow-boys 
are now fenced in the manner of eastern farms, and the tourist 
who travels over the continent in a through train is fortunate if 
he catches a close view of a single group of real cow-boys "of 
the old school." This change is to be attributed to several 
factors, among the chief of which are the replacement of public 
by private ownership of land and the introduction of the wire 
fence. Western ranch lands have passed, or are passing, through 
three distinct stages. In the first of these the land is owned by 
the Government, and the cattle-men graze their stock along with 
the cattle of their neighbours on the pubhc land. Under such 
conditions the old-fashioned cow-boy was a necessity, and con- 
sequently flourished. It was his business to look after his 
master's cattle wherever they might be on the "range lands, 

[57] 



and at the "round-up" to "cut out" from the common herd all 
cattle bearing his master's brand. In the second stage through 
which ranch lands pass, an individual buys his own grazing 
territory and prohibits his neighbor's cattle from encroaching 
on his boundaries. Here again cow-boys are necessary to patrol 
the boundaries, prevent stampedes, etc. Finally, the individual 
owners fence their lands, a procedure made possible by the 
invention and introduction of barb-wire. In this stage the 
function of the cow-boy is reduced to that of any farm hand, and 
the ranch itself is managed in about the same way as a stock 
farm of the east. All western land has not yet passed through 
this evolution, and lands in the first, second and third stages may 
be found in the same state. Ultimately, however, all ranch land 
will be fenced, and the cow-boy will become a farm hand. — 
A. B. R. 

The College Girl and Matrimony 

There are many debates which, though failing of final 
settlement, are nevertheless quite valuable in that they reveal 
interesting and out-of-the-way facts. A discussion in the 
American press on the value of higher education for the house- 
wife is a case in point. A certain professor of a western uni- 
versity declared vigorously that the college-bred girl was wholly 
worthless as a domestic wife, while women of position in educa- 
tional circles no less strenuously differed. Probably neither side 
converted the other, but the discussion was the means of bring- 
ing to light certain statistics which cannot fail to be of interest. 
These give 21.9 as the percentage of college girls who, after 
graduation, have married. 

Eighty per cent, of our women, it is said, marry and have 
children, so that when we find that only 21.9 per cent, of the 
graduates of fifteen typical girls' colleges have married we may 
not agree with the professor that higher education unfits the 
girl for wifedom, but we must confess that it lessens her 
chances of matrimony. The reasons for this fact are probably 
many. One of the most evident is that a large number of the 
girls who go to college at the earliest stage of their career, choose 
teaching as their profession, and practically discard all thoughts 
of matrimony. Other girls, who at the beginning of their courses 
have not yet decided to teach, become fascinated with their 
work and soon assume the same attitude. The college-bred 
girl is again liable to celibacy because what are probably her 
most attractive years, physically, are spent in comparative 
isolation from the opposite sex. In co-educational institutions, 
it is true that this condition does not exist, but in all distinc- 
tively girls' colleges male visitors are carefully scrutinized or 
excluded. This confines their companionship with men to the 

[58] 



summer season, which is generally far too short to permit of 
friendship ripening to love and marriage. What will be the 
remedy for this condition — if indeed it needs a remedy — is 
difficult to say. Co-education is a comparatively new feature in 
American education, and may in time change matters. In many 
colleges its introduction is fought by the male students, and in 
one prominent institution it has been entirely abandoned, but 
to predict what its general success or failure will be is as yet 
premature. — A. B. R. 

Dining Facilities on American Railways 

The tourist who travels across the American continent in 
a fast through train on one of the several railway lines connect- 
ing the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, will find that the provision 
made for his three daily meals is a matter of clockwork regu- 
larity and uniformity. A dining-car will accompany his train, 
and he will merely have to walk from his own Pullman car into 
the "diner" to obtain table d'hote or a la carte meals as the par- 
ticular railway he is patronizing may furnish. But let the tourist 
go across the country by less-frequented lines and on slower 
trains, and he will find that provisions for his meals become not 
only less regular, but also more varied in character. He will 
find some of these variations annoying, others ludicrous, but 
all interesting. First of all, in addition to the regular dining-cars 
are the "bufi^et cars," only a part of whose spaces are devoted to 
dining facilities, the rest being occupied by accommodations for 
passengers. Then there are the so-called "tourists' cars," 
which are primarily sleeping-cars, but which contain small 
stoves upon which women passengers may themselves do cook- 
ing. These have been found especially acceptable to families of 
the middle classes, who before starting a journey pack cooked 
lunches which they take with them and warm upon the stoves 
provided in the "tourists' cars." No charge is made for the 
use of the stoves; on the contrary, it is a part of the duty of the 
Pullman porter to attend to the stove and to provide small 
dining-tables, which may be set up between two seats when meal- 
time arrives. Another method of providing meals is used on 
a certain Wisconsin railway, and is ingenious to say the least. 
When a train upon that line reaches a town about meal-time, 
wicker baskets, each of which contain a hot meal, are thrown on 
the train and sold to the passengers at twenty-five cents (one 
shilling) each. For this price the passenger finds in his basket a 
plate of hot roast beef, two or three vegetables, a small bottle of 
hot coffee and a generous slice of pie. Of course knives, forks, 
and spoons accompany the victuals, and the tourist may take 
his time to eat, for the baskets are not returned to the station at 

(591 



which they were put on the train, but to a stopping-place thirty 
or forty miles away. Here the empty baskets are doubtless 
refilled, and trains going in the opposite direction are supplied 
with them, so that a continual and balancing interchange of 
baskets and dishes results. But on many railways the tourist 
cannot obtain meals on the train. The old methods of the stage- 
coach have left their traces in an elaborate system of railway 
restaurants and lunch counters. On some roads this system has 
been perfected to a degree that rivals the best dining-cars, while 
on others it is so bad that one must despair of obtaining a whole- 
some morsel of food until another railway is reached or the 
journey ended. When well conducted, this system has the advan- 
tage of allowing the passenger to break his journey three times 
a day, and to eat his meals on terra firma instead of in a rocking 
car that may spill his soup or upset his coffee. On the other 
hand, at its best the system can allow the passenger but a short 
time — about twenty minutes — for each meal, and however 
prompt the service may be, a feeling of haste is unavoidably 
created in the passenger. At lunch counters time is sometimes 
saved, but a substantial meal can rarely be obtained. As regards 
cost, the station restaurant is generally less expensive than the 
dining-car, since the cost of maintaining a restaurant on wheels 
is greater than in the case of a stationary eating-house. A good 
meal may be obtained at most station restaurants for about 
seventy-five cents (three shillings), while few dining-car meals 
can be had for less than one dollar (four shillings). — A. B. R. 

A Negro University 

The oldest educational institution for negroes in the United 
States is located, not as might be supposed in one of the southern 
states, but in Pennsylvania, a state lying north of Mason and 
Dixon's line, which for so many years marked the boundary 
between slave and free states. Founded in 1856 as a negro 
institute by a clergyman of Oxford, Pa., the institution has 
flourished for nearly fifty years, although its name was changed 
several years ago to "Lincoln University." It is situated about 
fifty miles south of Philadelphia, at a railway station which takes 
its name from the university. At present about 200 students are 
enrolled in the institution, 150 being in the college department 
and about 50 in the theological school. The course for the college 
requires four years, while the theological training may be com- 
pleted in three years. Commencements are held annually for 
the two departments, the theological commencement occurring 
in April, so that the graduates may have ample time to secure 
charges for the coming season among the churches. From an 
educational standpoint Lincoln University has been most success- 

[60] 



ful. At the last commencement of the theological department 
which your correspondent attended, sixteen negro students 
graduated, five of whom delivered addresses, which for vigor 
of thought and earnestness of presentation fairly rivalled the 
productions of the graduates of our seminaries for white students. 
Indeed, one of the trustees of Princeton University admitted that 
he had not heard better addresses at Princeton Seminary than he 
heard at Lincoln. The greatest difficulty with which Lincoln 
University has to contend is the poverty of the colored race. 
Slavery left the negroes desperately poor, and few of them have 
sufficiently recovered to be able to pay for the tuition required 
for a college course. Exclusive of clothes it costs ^130 (£26) per 
annum to support a student at Lincoln University. Aid is given 
the men in every way possible, such as securing for them positions 
as waiters, porters, and messengers in hotels during the summer 
vacations, etc. Certain scholarships also are open to competition, 
and various prizes are offered for high scholarship. The negroes 
enjoy their college life quite as much as their white brethren, and 
have such organizations as a college orchestra, glee club, banjo 
club, debating society, baseball and football teams, etc. The 
alumni of the university have with very few exceptions made 
creditable records for their alma mater in various industrial and 
professional pursuits. They have materially aided in transform- 
ing an ignorant, superstitious, and hypocritical negro ministry 
in the south into trained, intelligent and sincere workers. They 
have added to the material prosperity of their people by their 
success at the work-bench and on the land. They have proved 
their intellectual powers by their management of commercial 
houses, factories, and banks. Most of all, by the elevating 
influence on their fellow-men they have clearly pointed the way 
to the solution of the great race problem of America. — A. B. R. 



[61; 



The Tannhauser Legends 

High up upon a bald and desolate mountain of the Horsel- 
berg range, there opens a gloomy cavern, called the Horselloch, 
from the depths of which issues forth a low tumultous rumble, as 
of a distant storm. Riding through the region many years ago, 
Tannhauser, a knight and famous minnesinger, was attracted to 
the wierd cavern by the vision of a beautiful figure of a female. 
Dusk was at hand, but he could recognize the superhuman form 
as Venus. As she beckoned him to come to her, dulcet strains of 
music floated through the air, and he followed the retreating 
queen to her subterranean palace. For seven years he remained 
with her, indulging in all the sensual pleasures and debauch her 
palace could afi^ord, but at length his conscience rebelled against 
this state, and he longed to be restored to God. In vain he begged 
the pagan queen to permit him to depart, and not until he called 
upon the Virgin Mary was he released from the heathen power. 
Then in sorrow for his wicked life at the Horselloch, he joined a 
pilgrim band on its way to Rome to seek pardon of the Pope. 
But Urban IV beared Tannhauser's story with a stern face, and 
cast him off, crying "This staff in my hand shall grow green and 
blossom, ere grace to thee be shown." So, downcast, and full of 
despair, his last hope of reformation blighted, Tannhauser 
turned back to "the only asylum open to him, the Venusberg." 
But he had hardly disappeared, when lo! the withered staff of the 
Pope began to bud and bloom. Amazed and repentant. Urban 
sent for the unfortunate Tannhauser, but his messengers arrived 
too late, for as they approached the Venusberg they were told 
that a worn and haggard man had just descended the cave. From 
that day to this Tannhauser has not been seen. 

Such then, in brief, is the story of Tannhauser in its crys- 
talized German form. But Germany is by no means the only 
country that can boast of a Tannhauser myth. Philologists tell 
us that certain primitive word-roots may be traced in all lan- 
guages. Similarly the mythologist can say that "every popular 
tale has its root, a root which may be traced among different 
countries, and though the incidents of the story may differ, yet 
the substance remains unaltered." As Mr. Baring-Gould says 
"the common people never invent new story-radicals any more 
than we invent new word-roots. The same story-root remains, 
but it is varied according to the temperament of the narrator or 
the exigencies of localization." It is interesting to note further 

[62] 



in considering the origin of language and myth, that while primi- 
tive language arose from the imitation of nature's sounds, primi- 
tive myths arose from an imitation of nature's phenomena. 

The story-root of the Tannhauser myth is this: A man is 
enticed to the abode of an underground folk, "where he unites 
with a woman of the underground race. He desires to revisit 
the earth, and escapes. He returns again to the region below," 
Now, as we shall presently see, myths based upon this simple 
root are to be found in nearly every language that has a folk-lore. 
It is represented in every member of the Indo-European family, 
exists in tangible form in Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Ice- 
landic, Scotch, Welsh, Modern Greek and many others. 

To determine the phenomenon of nature which the Tann- 
hauser myth imitates or represents is a matter of mere specula- 
tion, and we must seek a primitive form of the legend on which 
we may venture a guess. To the Greeks the phenomena of nature 
appealed most strongly. They observed with great interest 
every change in the external world, and what impressed them 
most was the constant cycle of life and apparent death as dis- 
played by nature. They observed that the flowers and herbs had 
their periods of manifest growth and life ever followed by periods 
of disappearance for a time from the visible world, and this cycle 
of nature soon found representation in the Greek myths. It is 
a thought readily conceived in an imaginative mind that the 
luxuriant leaves of the trees, and the delicate blossoms of the 
flowers are, as autumn comes on, seduced by an enticing mistress 
to join her underground abode, and that in spring, released from 
her power, they rise up with exulting joy in their freedom. Such 
a thought, we venture to suggest, lay at the bottom of the 
Ulysses and Circe myth, the classical parallel of the Tannhauser 
story. Like the phenomena of nature, Ulysses has his periods 
of disappearance followed by periods of restoration to the world. 
For eight years he is held captive by the nymph Calypso in the 
Island of Ogygia, and again, after a release, he is subject to the 
enchantress Circe for a year. 

The Tannhauser myth is, we said, a universal one, but only 
a few of its forms as found in various countries can here be 
mentioned. In Scotland the story of Thomas of Ercildowne is 
the same story. Thomas is enticed by an elfin lady to an under- 
ground realm where he remains seven years with her. He comes 
back to earth, but is bound to return to his lady at her summons. 
So when it is announced to Thomas, as he revels with his friends, 
that a hart and hind have left the forest, he instantly follows the 
animals to the woods, and never returns. 

"There is a Norse Thattr of a certain Helgi Thorir's son, 
which is, in its present form, a production of the fourteenth 
century. Helgi and his brother Thorstein went on a cruise to 

[63] 



Finmark, or Lapland. They reached a ness, and found the land 
covered with forest. Helgi explored the forest, and lighted 
suddenly on a party of red-dressed women riding upon red horses. 
These ladies were beautiful and of troll race. One surpassed the 
others in beauty, and she was their mistress. They erected a 
tent and prepared a feast. * * * Xhe lady, who named her- 
self Ingibjorb, advanced towards the Norseman, and invited him 
to live with her. He feasted and lived with the trolls for three 
days and then returned to his ships, bringing with him two chests 
of silver and gold, which Ingibjorg had given him. He had been 
forbidden to mention where he had been and with v/hom so he 
told no one whence he had obtained the chests. The ships sailed, 
and he returned home. One winter's night Helgi was fetched 
away from home, by two mysterious horsemen, and no one was 
able to ascertain for many years what had become of him, till 
the prayers of the king, Olaf, obtained his release, and then he 
was restored to his father and brother, but he was thenceforth 
blind. All the time of his absence he had been with the red- 
vested lady in her mysterious abode of Gloesisveller." 

Sweden offers yet another variation of the remarkable myth. 
A young man while on his way to his bride was enticed to a 
mountain abode by a beautiful elfin-queen. Forty years with 
her passes as an hour, and upon returning to earth he found like 
old Rip Van Winkle that all his friends and relatives had died 
or had forgotten him, and so he returned to his elf-queen's 
land. In Pomerania a similar story is told of Jacob Dietrich, a 
laborer's son. 

Catalonia also boasts its Venusberg, and in its version of 
the myth displays a curious variation of the general form by 
making the seduced person in the story a woman, while the 
enticing demons are men. But perhaps the Catalonian women 
are responsible for the change. 

Only one more of these curious mediaeval variations can 
be mentioned before passing on to consider two modern poetical 
versions of the Tannhauser myth. Connla, the son of Ireland's 
old king, climbed with his father to the top of Ursnech. Suddenly 
a damsel of great beauty approached the young prince. She 
loved Connla, and invited him to the Plain of Delight where 
dwells King Boadag, and where there is no death or sin or trans- 
gression. The maiden was invisible to the old King, but hearing 
her enticing voice, and fearful for his son, he besought Druid to 
chant against her. "Come with me" she cried "Connla of the 
ruddy hair, of the speckled neck, flame red, a yellow crown 
awaits thee, thy figure shall not wither nor its youth or beauty 
until the dreadful Judgment." But Druid's chantings drove 
away the maiden, yet not before she had given Connla a magical 
apple. For a month the woman was absent, but during all that 

I64] 



time the prince lived upon the apple she had given him, which 
proved as lasting as the widow's barrel of meal. But finally she 
returned. Again she invited him, and again Druid was sought 
and his magical chants. But the charm was over, and Connla 
bounding into a ship of glass disappeared forever with the 
wonderful woman. 

With the modern artist it is but natural that the rude and 
plastic myth of Tannhauser has found great favor. Its simple 
theme admits of endless variations. Sung by the hopeful 
moralist, it tells of the limitless mercy of God as compared with 
the cruel judgments of man; transposed to the minor key of the 
pessimist's harp it sings of the terrible end of all things earthly; 
while tuned to the pipe of the Epicurean, it urges us to "eat, 
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." 

"The Hill of Venus" by Mr. Wm. Morris is the first of the 
modern poetical versions to consider. This is one of the poet's 
earlier poems and forms a portion of that extensive collection — 
"The Earthly Paradise." Probably the first quality one notices 
in reading at random from this collection of myths is its uniform 
harmony and smoothness. Certain it is at any rate that this 
quality is an everpresent one in "The Hill of Venus." Select 
any stanza from the poem, and the same melody will be found 
as in the following opening verses: 

"A certain summer afternoon day hung 
Doubtful 'twixt storm and sunshine, and the earth 
Seemed waiting for the clouds to spread, that clung 
About the south-east, ere its narrowing mirth. 
Ere all the freshness of its hopeful birth. 
Should end in dreadful darkness, and the clash 
Of rain-beat boughs and wildering lightning flash." 

But the poet who has ever ready a melodious verse has 
seldom more than that. He has no philosophy, no interest in 
the inner and deeper problems of life that stir men's souls. He 
is a poet of the surface, and this to a certain extent is true of 
Mr. Morris. As he himself says, he is the "idle singer of an empty 
day," and his only purpose in putting ancient and mediaeval 
ballads in poetical form is to please. But this we may say is the 
result of the life of the poet. Mr. Morris was first of all a printer. 
Poetry was to him his recreation, and it was only after he had 
lived a busy day in his city office that he retired at night to his 
lonely study to invoke the poetic Muse. At such a time it is 
natural that Mr. Morris turns away from the deep broodings of 
the preceding hours and becomes the "idle poet of an empty 
day." "The Hill of Venus" then contains no allegory; its Tann- 
hauser (Walter) is wholly wanting the symbolism of Tennyson's 
"Arthur," of Shelly's "Prometheus;" and not even the original 

[6sl 



German ballad's representation of the strife between paganism 
and Christianity is preserved in the "Hill of Venus." Being 
such an "idle singer" as we have shown Mr. Morris to be, it 
is natural that he presents love to us wholly in its physical and 
passionate elements. There is nothing divine in it; nothing 
intellectual. In the denouement of his ballad, however, it seems 
that he has surpassed his predecessors and contemporaries. 
The old pagan form of the Tannhauser ballad, it will be remem- 
bered, after telling of the Pope's refusal to pardon Tannhauser, 
unhesitatingly commits his soul to the bottomless pit. These 
are the lines: 

"But he [Tannhauser] hath sought the Venusberg, 

Hath chosen his love for aye — 
And Pope Urban's soul shall be counted lost 

Cometh the Judgment Day!" 

A higher conception of the Pope's fate was expressed in the 
later Christian versions, which although representing Urban's 
last days to be of bitter sorrow because his infallability is called 
in question by God, yet finally land him on the happy side of 
the Styx. But the still higher conception of the Pope's character 
belongs to Mr. Morris, who not only saves the Pope but has him 
die in the feeling of great joy, that God's mercy exceeds man's. 
In his version no selfish displeasure is aroused in the holy man's 
soul at the miraculous growth of the withered staff. 

Mr. John Davidson's New Ballad of Tannhauser is in many 
respects similar to "The Hill of Venus." Though of much less 
length its purpose, like Morris's poem, is to present a simple 
myth without reflections, without philosophy. His purpose 
indeed in writing the poem is best expressed in his own words, 
when he says, "I have endeavored to present passion rather than 
sentiment, and once more to bear a hand in laying the ghost of 
an unwholesome idea that still haunts the world — the idea of 
the inherent impurity of nature." Now, that Mr. Davidson has 
succeeded in presenting passion rather than sentiment is quite 
evident in his ballad, but that he has succeeded in "laying the 
ghost" we feel inclined to deny. The old Tannhauser ballad is 
essentially a poem with a moral. It contrasts as we have said, 
the limitless mercy of God with the narrow judgments of man. 
But in Mr. Davidson this element is wholly wanting. True, it 
may be said, that the highest poetry is exempt from moralizing, 
and for this reason we have passed by Mr. Morris without con- 
demning him. But Mr. Davidson's ballad goes further. He does 
not, like Mr. Morris, exclude the good moral of the Christian 
myth, but rather replaces the good moral by a bad one. Tann- 
hauser in the old legend is forgiven by an all merciful God what 
is unpardonable among men. It is in fact a miracle of miracles. 

[66] 



But as some one says "Mr. Davidson transforms it into a mys- 
tery of iniquity — he reads it as a license to Tannhauser to return 
to his sin. In such a case the whole machinery of the ballad is 
out of gear with its new intention." That Mr. Davidson has 
an elementary and irresistible sweetness in his ballads is unde- 
niable, but so much the more dangerous does he become when 
this sweetness sings of a rotten morality. One eulogist says of 
him that "he is a born singer and carries you off your legs with 
his magnificent stanzas." We admit it, but the trouble is he 
never gives you your legs back again, and when you have once 
awakened in the world he has created for you, you will find speedy 
use for them. His stanzas run through your mind long after 
you have read them, but they are stanzas of passion. In "The 
Ballad of a Nun" Mr. Davidson displays a similar quality, and 
indeed in many of his songs, but when we consider that as a poet 
he has only been before the world a dozen years or more, we may 
hope that yet the moralist may get the better of the man. When 
a harmonious combination of sound morality and unquestioned 
poetic ability shall be combined in Mr. Davidson, we may expect 
"A 'Newer' Ballad of Tannhauser," that will indeed be won- 
derful. 

Alfred Belden Rice, 

March 3, 1899. 



[67: 



Hiram Porter McGinniss 

There rises above the southern waters of Lake Champlain, 
on its western shore, one of the smaller mountains of the Adiron- 
dack range. Resting at the foot of this mountain, and hidden 
by clustering groves of sugar maples, lies the little historic village 
of Crown Point. In this interesting town, it was my privilege 
to spend several weeks of a beautiful summer, investigating old 
ruined forts of the Revolution, visiting monuments of the famous 
dead, and, in short, reading all my colonial history over again 
from the book of nature itself. 

It was on one of the first of these historic rambles, that we 
heard of the illustrious name and fame of Hiram Porter Mc- 
Ginniss, the sole occupant of the overhanging mountain. Wish- 
ing to know more of a personage bearing such a distinguished 
appellation, our party chose the next pleasant day to ascend the 
steep, and visit the great man on his native heath. We made an 
early start that fine morning, and the cool air of dawn stimulated 
us to a quick pace. The rising road before us, spotted with the 
delicate light of the morning sun, presented a beautiful scene, 
and the sparkling dew on the verdant trees had not yet been 
driven away by the sun, as a ball of fire rising in the east. We 
had walked some three hours amid this paradise of nature, when 
there suddenly rose across our way, as the signboard told us, the 
narrow wooden gate of "Cold Spring and Grand View Park." 
We had waited but a short time after knocking on the old gate- 
way, when there came to meet us the king of the country himself, 
Hiram Porter McGinniss. 

There was no difficulty in seeing him, even long before his 
arrival, for he was a man of enormous stature, a veritable son 
of the children of Anak. As if still not satisfied with his giant 
height, there was mounted upon his head a weather-worn high 
silk hat, such as our village politicians are wont to wear. He 
wore a black threadbare Prince Albert coat, which added still 
more to his dignity, while his green-striped trowsers were evi- 
dently intended for a man some few feet shorter than their 
present occupant. The old-fashioned shoes were of such a 
character as to require no Roentgen Ray to reveal their contents, 
although we must credit one with having two, and the other three 
brass buttons still in service. 

But the features of the man were even still more remarkable 
than his costume. His face was long, very smooth, and term- 
inated in a jaw which showed decided propensities to the 

168 1 



lantern type. Below the sharply projecting eyebrows were set 
two small eyes so deep within their sockets that I could scarcely 
penetrate their depth. His nose was straight, long, and very 
thin, while somewhat below the nasal projection was a narrow 
line of about an inch in length, which I am almost inclined to 
believe was his mouth, since it underwent a remarkable series of 
parabolic evolutions as the illustrious being articulated. From 
beneath the high silk hat, streamed out in all directions Hiram 
Porter McGinniss's stubborn, dusky hair, taking advantage of 
every incongruity of the silken rim, to air a few more of its rigid 
brothers in the sun. 

As Hiram Porter came to meet us on that fine morning, 
there was a decided tendency among our party to risibility, but 
he, thinking that the first view of the Park had pleased us so 
greatly, hastened to invite us to his observatory, of which he 
was extremely proud. This building, situated on the highest 
eminence of the mountain, was just tall enough to rise beyond 
the obstructing trees. Above the doorway leading to this edifice, 
was hung a green sign painted on a purple background, reading 
"Please Regishter." So we all went up to the legal looking book 
and "regishtered," in obedience to our host's request. This 
done, Hiram Porter offered to lead the way to the summit of 
his outlook. Upward we went one by one, following our giant 
leader, and suppressing to the best of our ability the rising 
inclination of laughter. 

Before ascending the mountain, we had been told by the 
townspeople of Crown Point, that Hiram Porter had committed 
to memory an elaborately constructed speech concerning the 
history of the surrounding country. But we were also informed 
that, if any one interrupted him in his discourse, he was not able 
to resume the narrative from the interrupted point, but like an 
embarrassed school boy was compelled to begin the story entirely 
anew. Being anxious to hear this great literary production, one 
of our party suggested that we would like to know something of 
the history of the magnificent country that encircled us, where- 
upon Hiram Porter threw back his great shoulders, took in a 
very deep breath, pointed his cane to a particularly high peak, 
and gave, in a nasal monotone at a startling rate, the following 
speech "verbatim et literatim." 

"Standing upon the superior apex of this observatory of 
'Cold Spring and Grand View Park,' you may see first, in the 
direction of my rod, Dix Peak; next you observe Nipple Top, 
Mount Marcy, Crow's Nest, and Deer's Leap. Now coming into 
Vermont State, you may distinguish Mount Mansfield, Camel's 
Hurnp, Grand View, and the Three Brothers. Focusing your 
eye immediately below our position, you may follow the wind- 
swept waters of the historic Lake Champlain for sixty miles. 

I69] 



Here to the south we note with moistened eyes the retrograde 
metamorphosis of the disintegrating walls of Fort Ticonderoga, 
stormed and captured in the year of our Lord 1775. There, 
upon that peak in the distance you may see, if your vision fails 
you not, the scene of many of Roger's dangerous death struggles 
with the Indians. It was on this eminence at four o'clock in the 
afternoon of the seventeenth of April, 1752, that the famous 
English hunter loaded his old-fashioned arquebus and killed 
three Massaquois Indians, two bears, and five wild boars in 
attempting to protect himself and family from the bloody terrors 
of a watery grave. Perhaps no more sacred spot exists between 
the wave-tormented shores of the Atlantic, and the sunny 
coasts of the Pacific, than the sparkling sheet of water on our 
right known as Bulgwaggie Bay. Ah, yes! so immortal has that 
name become, that we adventure to assert that when chronicles 
shall be no more, when libraries are buried in the oblivions of 
the past, when historians have ceased to be, yea, when even 
Hiram Porter McGinniss shall have lain down the weary pen, 
upon his last worthy page, even then, I say the name of Bulg- 
waggie Bay will resound from shore to shore, and from ocean 
to ocean, for there it was that Mrs. Bulgwaggie was drownded!" 

But just as Hiram Porter was completing this last glorious 
sentence, one saucy little Miss of our party impertinently 
interrupted him. The great orator looked confused for a moment, 
in endeavoring to recall the completion of the sentence, but 
then gave up the attempt and began the speech anew at his 
opening sentence. 

But Hiram Porter McGinniss had yet another talent to 
display before our departure; for as we were about to leave the 
observatory he produced an old cracked fiddle, and squeezed 
the tail-piece so mercilessly between his chin and shoulder that 
the instrument fairly shrieked for deliverance. I think most of 
the selections the musician played that day must have been 
either composed or arranged by Hiram Porter McGinniss. For 
although he performed as much as an hour, I could not recognize 
one familiar tune in the concert, except once, when I did think 
I heard a new arrangement of "My country, 'tis of thee" trans- 
posed to a minor scale. 

As we turned once more to go, Hiram accompanied us to 
the gate, incessantly wriggling the bow of his fiddle all the way. 
At last we bade the man farewell, and then, seating himself upon 
the top rail of the gate, he struck up a melancholy tune for our 
departure, as soberly as if he were playing a postlude for some 
great cathedral. In this ludicrous position we lost sight of our 
curious host as we pursued our way. But the harsh tones of his 
instrument followed us farther, and long after we had left the 
old gateway of "Cold Spring and Grand View Park," fragments 

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of the fiddler's strains were wafted to us by the wind. But as we 
neared the historic town once more, the shrill notes died away 
in the more melodious song of the rustling trees, and our ears 
were again restored to the harmonious melodies of nature. 

Alfred Belden Rice. 



[71 



The Ethan Allen Monument 

From my earliest days, graveyards have presented but 
little attraction to me; the damp walls of their vaulted tombs 
have excited but little of my interest; and I am accustomed to 
choose fairer fields for my moonlight rambles than the melan- 
choly cities of the dead. And yet among these mournful burial 
places there is occasionally one whose artistic beauties or his- 
toric interests tempt me to enter its doleful dominions. Such 
an exceptional place is the "Green Mountain Cemetery" of 
Burlington, Vermont. This extensive city of tombs lies on a 
miniature plateau to the east of the village, and affords a pleasant 
view of the fertile Winooski Valley, and the famous Green' 
Mountains of Vermont. 

Buried beneath the soil of this suburban cemetery, there 
rests amid the mountains he loved so well in life, the body of 
Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga. And above the dust of 
his remains there rises the tall and stately monument which 
occasioned my visit to the melancholy place. 

There extends about the pedestal of the rising shaft of 
stone a dusky fence of antique iron, whose pointed pickets are 
the bayonets of Revolutionary rifles, and whose bases are the 
butts of guns. Within this unique enclosure, and surrounding 
the base of the great monument, are the graves of Allen's near 
relations. Each grave supports a gloomy slab of slate, and each 
slab tells its simple story of the dust below. In the center of this 
group of clustered tombs stands a highly polished pedestal of 
Barre granite. Upon its face is held a figured brazen tablet, and 
upon this tablet is inscribed an earnest tribute of the "Green 
Mountain Boys," to their celebrated leader. There rises far 
above this memorial pedestal, a stately shaft of glassy smooth- 
ness, terminating in a second graceful pedestal of stone. 
Mounted upon this, some thirty feet above his mouldering dust 
in the grave, stands out the dauntless figure of Ethan Allen. 

He is not clad in the brilliant costume of a dress parade; he 
is not posing as a model for an artist's brush; he is not con- 
scious of the admiring crowds that lift their eyes to him. No. 
His well worn hat is cocked upon his head with little care; his 
coat has witnessed fiercer scenes than those of the tailor's ware- 
room; and his military boots have lost much of their dazzling 
luster, in the service of their master. But upon his contracted 
brow we read determination, his outstretched arm reveals a 
commanding will, and in his deep set eyes is fixed a dauntless 

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purpose. Every muscle in his frame seems contracted to the 
last degree, and every nerve sensitive to the slightest sound. 
His lips are tightly drawn together, and his expression, grave 
and resolute. And yet upon that stern, commanding face, I 
almost faintly read a softer line, I seem to see a tenderer light 
gleam a moment in those deepset eyes. But in another instant, 
it is gone, and as I stand beneath the irresistible man, I feel that 
I am the unfortunate Captain de la Plaine holding the valuable 
fort of Ticonderoga, and as my enemy demands my stronghold, 
I tremblingly ask "By whose authority.?" But the dauntless 
Allen thunders out in audacious tones, "By the authority of 
the Great Jehovah, and the Continental Congress!" I yield my 
fort and all is lost ! 



[73 1 



Wordsworth 

Few men of the literary world have enjoyed a longer period 
of activity than Wordsworth. Few men too have been so for- 
tunate in the chronological setting of their activities. Born as 
he was in 1770 Wordsworth came into the world at a time when 
as John Morely puts it "most of the great lights of the i8th 
century were still burning, though burning low." Pope, it is 
true, and all the other Queen Anne poets were gone. But Gray 
lived on until 1771 ; Goldsmith died in 1774, while Johnson passed 
away when our poet was already fourteen years of age. Hume died 
in 1776 and Voltaire and Rousseau both followed him two years 
later. Although Cowper was some forty years older than Words- 
worth it was not until 1780 that Cowper seriously began to 
write. Crabbe (to whom Wordsworth is indebted for his choice 
of themes from rural life) was really his contemporary, his 
career extending from 1754-1832. The two great contempor- 
aries of Wordsworth were Scott and Coleridge, born in 1771 and 
1772 respectively. But Wordsworth lived to see yet other 
illustrious men spring up around him. Byron was the first of 
them who came in 1788, Shelly and Keats followed in 1792 and 
'95. Still later in 1812 Browning came into the world; and in 
1830 Wordsworth could read the first volume of Tennyson's 
poems. 

Such men as these then represent the literary environment 
and companionship of Wordsworth. Yet with all these at his 
very elbows the poet of Nature stood apart, alone. Though he 
admired Scott and Southey as friends, he cared little for their 
poetry. What little merit he would allow Byron he thought was 
largely due to his stealing from himself. "Goethe," he said 
"tried the universal without ever being able to avoid exposing 
his individuality, which his character was not of a kind to 
dignify." Crabbe we have said gave the poet certain sugges- 
tions relative to themes, but Coleridge was the only man with 
whom Wordsworth had any close poetical communion. But his 
admiration for Coleridge never extended to servitude in his art, 
and it still remains true that Wordsworth had "no teachers nor 
inspirers save nature and solitude." (John Morely.) 

How then we must ask did Wordsworth differ from his 
predecessors, and what is the quality of his distinctive note 
which gives him his place in literature? We cannot take Words- 
worth's own answer as adequate. For he held that he was 
nothing unless he was a teacher, and didacticism however high 

[74] 



it may place a man in the realm of utility cannot give him a 
permanent position in poetry. Wordsworth's merit rather lies 
in his new interpretation of nature, his simple portrayal of 
common life, and his representation of the simpler and uni- 
versal feelings of man. And we say this at the risk of differing 
from Mr. Swinburne who if I understand his essay thinks that 
Wordsworth has hitherto been admired for everything he does 
not possess and for little or nothing which he has in the highest 
degree. Thus in Mr. Swinburne's estimation Wordsworth is 
the great heroic poet of England but Crabbe easily equals him 
in the portrayal of common life while Burns far distances him. 

Wordsworth's attitude toward nature was, we have said, 
new. Perhaps more strictly it might be said to be a revival of 
the old. In early days poets had put their ears to nature and 
written their poems at her dictation; thus was Wordsworth's 
attitude. But after the days of those early poets, men had given 
up the old method and studied nature through books. With the 
conventional phrases of such men Wordsworth had no patience 
and his revolt against this kind of nature study he well expresses 
in his "Expostulation and Reply." "Up, up, my friend, and 
quit your books," etc. Wordsworth is thus preeminently a poet 
of nature; but nature with Wordsworth does not mean mere 
external nature; it includes human nature. In this he differs 
widely from Byron. For when Byron seeks a "pleasure in the 
pathless woods," it is a pleasure of a creature coming into con- 
tact with something of which he is separate. But in Words- 
worth this is not so. Nature, in Wordsworth's conception and 
poetry is full of souls, as Mr. Pater I think puts it, and when man 
comes into contact with external nature it is but the addition of 
another soul. Of this however I shall speak in a moment when 
considering the philosophy of Wordsworth. 

The portrayal of common life and of simple feelings are also 
peculiar marks of Wordsworth's genius. And these show at the 
same time the merits and defects of the poet. This leads us back 
to the old statement that Wordsworth's sphere is limited, that 
his audience is not universal. The man who paints the shepherds 
and lowly men of the world has not given us an entire picture of 
jife though he has given us a very pleasing one, and Wordsworth, 
in telling us of the simple feelings of humble men has a wonderful 
power. His sphere is paternal affection, brotherly and sisterly 
love, and his success in this is displayed in such poems as 
"Michael," the "Reverie of Poor Susan," "The Brothers," etc. 
That he had little talent in portraying the more violent passions 
of man he proved too well in his dramatic effort " The Borderers " 
a story of unmatched horribleness and unprobability. 

But even if Wordsworth had written nothing more than 
"Michael," I think Mr. Swinburne would stand refuted in his 

[75] 



statement concerning the inferiority of Wordsworth's portrayal of 
simple life. Nothing in Crabbe or Burns has appealed to me 
through its directness, pathos and simpleness so much as this 
little poem of "Michael." 

Let us pass on to consider the philosophy and religion of 
Wordsworth poetry. In both spheres it seems useless to try to 
frame from his poetry any extensive schemes or theories of 
Wordsworthean philosophy or religion, because none existed in 
the poet's mind. But he does at times give us hints of his beliefs 
which are exceedingly interesting and cannot be overlooked. 
In looking into the philosophy and religion of Wordsworth we 
are led to a consideration of the poems "Intimations of Immor- 
tality," "Ode to Duty" and "Lines written Tintem Abbey." 
The first of these contains most philosophy; the second and third 
most morality and religion. 

The "Intimations of Immortality" is a modern expression of 
the old Platonic argument that man must live after death because 
he lived before he was born. Plato you remember reasoned that 
certain intentive ideas such as those of time, space, right God 
are merely "reminiscenses of things learned in a previous state 
of being." This old theory, though it appears ludicrous to many 
of us at the present day, has found many advocates among 
philosophers, theologians and poets. Philo and Origen sup- 
ported it; Kant and Julius Muller have held it in Germany, and 
Edward Beecher in America. And as Prof. Strong in his "Religion 
of the Poets" adds "it may not be generally known that a 
sort of metempsychosis has been favored in Scotland and in 
our own day by Prof. Knight, the editor and biographer of Words- 
worth. Perhaps it is worth while to read again a stanza of 
Wordsworth's poem in order to sum up the consideration of 
Wordsworth's philosophy. 

In speaking of the religion of Wordsworth it is very im- 
portant to recognize that a poet's religion is to be judged by 
what he says, not by what he does not say. We cannot condemn 
Shakespeare as atheistical because we cannot discover his par- 
ticular creed; neither must we lay aside Wordsworth because he 
has failed to write church hymns for our denomination. It has 
been said that Wordsworth is not a Christian poet. That is 
perhaps true; yet he is nowhere antagonistic to Christianity. 
His faith is in the great truths of natural religion, in a nature all 
pervaded by the Spirit of God and as Prof. Strong again remarks 
"men will not believe in supernatural revelation, unless they 
first believe in a God from whom such supernatural revelation 
may come." In Tintem Abbey we find Wordsworth's whole 
religion well set forth; in it we can see that Wordsworth re- 
garded Nature as Goethe phrased it "the living garment of the 
Deity." When we put ourselves in this Wordsworthean atti- 

[76] 



tude toward Nature we can appreciate the poet when he says 

To me the meanest flower that blows can give 
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. 

and we shall not commit the folly of saying with John Morely 
that it is nonsense to suppose that "one impulse from a vernal 
wood can teach you anything of moral evil and of good or of 
anything else." 

To sum up then this brief report it may be said that though 
Wordsworth was limited in his sphere, yet in that sphere all of 
his powers seem to have perfectly harmonized. His intellectual 
and moral sides formed perfect symmetry. As Prof. Dowden 
has remarked, Byron's nobler impulses were met and baffled by 
his baser passions; with Keats sensation sometimes tyrannizes 
over reflection; in Coleridge the will failed to sustain the imagina- 
tion, but in Wordsworth there exists a complete harmony of 
faculties. In interpreting nature for us Wordsworth has done 
what no other poet has done so well. Though he was not alive 
to the fragrances of nature; though he had not the sense of smell 
of Keats and Herrick his eye and ear were keen to see and hear 
what none had perceived before what perhaps few would have 
perceived today were it not for their volume of Wordsworth. 

THE END 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

015 909 911 8 ^ *^ 




